Study Desk

You are wise, so you will gladly be patient with fools!

Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they from Abraham's family? So am I.

When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas wanted to arrest me, so he put guards around the city.

But my friends lowered me in a basket through a hole in the city wall. So I escaped from the governor.

So that I would not become too proud of the wonderful things that were shown to me, a painful physical problem was given to me. This problem was a messenger from Satan, sent to beat me and keep me from being too proud.

But he said to me, "My grace is enough for you. When you are weak, my power is made perfect in you." So I am very happy to brag about my weaknesses. Then Christ's power can live in me.

So you received everything that the other churches have received. Only one thing was different: I was not a burden to you. Forgive me for this!

So I am happy to give everything I have for you, even myself. If I love you more, will you love me less?

I am writing this while I am away from you so that when I come I will not have to be harsh in my use of authority. The Lord gave me this authority to build you up, not to tear you down.

God, by his grace through Christ, called you to become his people. So I am amazed that you are turning away so quickly and believing something different than the Good News.

We preached to you the Good News. So if we ourselves, or even an angel from heaven, should preach to you something different, we should be judged guilty!

and showed his son to me so that I might tell the Good News about him to those who are not Jewish. When God called me, I did not get advice or help from any person.

James, Peter, and John, who seemed to be the leaders, understood that God had given me this special grace, so they accepted Barnabas and me. They agreed that they would go to the Jewish people and that we should go to those who are not Jewish.

So Peter was a hypocrite, as were the other Jewish believers who joined with him. Even Barnabas was influenced by what these Jewish believers did.

When I saw they were not following the truth of the Good News, I spoke to Peter in front of them all. I said, "Peter, you are a Jew, but you are not living like a Jew. You are living like those who are not Jewish. So why do you now try to force those who are not Jewish to live like Jews?"

Yet we know that a person is made right with God not by following the law, but by trusting in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus, that we might be made right with God because we trusted in Christ. It is not because we followed the law, because no one can be made right with God by following the law.

It was the law that put me to death, and I died to the law so that I can now live for God.

So you should know that the true children of Abraham are those who have faith.

So all who believe as Abraham believed are blessed just as Abraham was.

Christ did this so that God's blessing promised to Abraham might come through Jesus Christ to those who are not Jews. Jesus died so that by our believing we could receive the Spirit that God promised.