a closer look

A Closer Look: True Freedom (Gal 5:1)

Lisa Spencer3 Comments

man standing on rock“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1 NIV)

Common Translation: At first glance, without any context, it looks like Paul is saying that freedom in Christ means a lack of bondage to things that enslaves. For a long time, I interpreted this verse as a stand alone that meant Christ has set us free from enslaving behavior, such as not doing x,y, or z. And I have heard enough messages about this passage that make the same reference of freedom for it to make the Closer Look list. I really don’t think that is what Paul is talking about, freedom from enslaving behavior.

What’s Going On?: Paul is writing to the church at Galatia because a sect of the Pharisees (possibly believers in Christ) indicated that in order for the Gentile believers to fully be accepted by God they had to comply with the law and be circumcised. Their perspective made sense to them since compliance with the law was imposed upon Israel as God’s chosen people as a means for obedience to God. While they accepted that Gentiles could now be granted the same promises too, their perspective was that Gentiles had to comply with the law, meaning outward prescriptions of the Mosaic regulations. Continue reading →

A Closer Look: Introduction

Lisa Spencer1 Comment

I’m kind of geeked about this new blog category. I’ve been wanting to do something this for awhile but couldn’t really make it work on Parchment and Pen.

What is A Closer Look?  Occasionally, I’ll want to examine select passages of scripture or terms that have adopted contemporary interpretations but ones that I think are a bit removed from the the author’s intent when he wrote it. I think it’s easy for a concept or interpretation to snowball into something big and acceptable. The more popularized something becomes the more it becomes accepted without reconciliation to authorial intent of the text. Reconciling it with authorial intent means examining it in it’s proper setting according to the theme of the book it’s placement within the meta-narrative of Scripture.

So as passages or terms come to mind, usually because they’ve come across my radar, I want to discuss them and write about them and give some examination. I won’t always be right but I just want to ask some honest questions that I think deserve a closer look.

First on tap: Galatians 5:1 and freedom that’s not really free. Stay tuned!