Podcast: Gospel in Life

Most people think the job of religion is to call people into a life of morality. But Paul says that’s not what Christianity is at all. Gospel transformation is completely different than moral reformation. In Galatians 5, Paul says there are two different reasons you could obey God—and the reason for your obedience makes all…

What’s the purpose of writing a letter to somebody? The purpose is to get something across. So when we read the Bible, we need to have the intellectual integrity to treat it the way we’d want our own communications treated. Galatians 4 is a text that many find difficult to read and interpret. What is…

The difference between a sword and a scalpel at first sight doesn’t seem that great. But you can either cut in order to defeat or in order to heal. The book of Galatians is counseling, and for Paul, truth is a scalpel. He’s not using truth to bludgeon, but to do surgery. And the reason…

If you want to be an agent of reconciliation and change and healing in the lives of others, Paul says something that applies to us all. Paul says the essence of his ministry was this: “become like me, for I became like you.” There are two sides to that sentence. Only by the power of…

This is a startling passage. The context is that the Galatians, who became Christians out of pagan backgrounds, are now falling under the influence of teachers who say, “It’s not enough just to believe in Jesus Christ. You also have to obey everything in the Bible.” Paul says something here which is astounding. He says…

On Today’s episode of Gospel in Life, we’re previewing the first episode of our new standalone limited podcast series: Cultivating a Healthy Marriage with Tim Keller. Cultivating a Healthy Marriage with Tim Keller is a short podcast series featuring the messages from the most popular sermon series of Dr. Keller’s time at Redeemer Presbyterian Church….

As a new Christian, I thought of salvation as taking things off of me: that my sins were taken off. But at the very same moment, there’s another part of that legal transaction: something is put on me. I’m adopted as God’s own son. Galatians tells us that because we’re legally adopted, we have an…

The gospel insists on putting two things together that no other religion tries to put together, that all other human categories of thought insist is impossible. How is it possible to have both law and grace in your life? It’s a striking apparent contradiction. In fact, if it doesn’t create some tension in you, you’ll…

I don’t think there’s any competition on this: the cross is the single most visible and recognizable symbol in human history. It’s everywhere. But what does it mean? Before Christ came, the cross was a gallows, a firing squad, a guillotine. All the cross meant was that you’d lost. It was not a symbol of…

Whenever we listen or read about marriage we bring our own filters. We have filters based on our experiences and cultures. So before we pick at this passage in Ephesians 5, let’s stand back and consider that the passage presents a view of marriage that may be challenging to our very filters. Because the biblical…