Galatians 3
Radical Gospel
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In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith,
for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
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When he wrote Galatians, Paul was royally ticked off.
Some other teachers had come along and told his baby Christians that Jesus wasn't enough for salvation.
A mother bear protecting her cubs had nothing on Paul at that point.
The gloves were OFF.
Anger is a valid emotion--and like all emotions, it is morally neutral.
Sometimes we say hurtful things when we are angry--things we don't really mean.
But sometimes anger reveals the truth.
In his anger, Paul laid out the radical truth:
The Gospel erases all our boundaries, pulls down social ladders, and destroys all our walls.
There is no longer "US" vs "THEM."
The ground is level at the foot of the cross.
There is a lot of anger in our land today.
That anger is morally neutral.
If it causes us to tear into one another, then it's bad.
If it causes us to boldly reveal just how revolutionary Christ's mad, crazy love can be, then it's a good thing.
In Christ Jesus there is no black or white.
No American or foreigner.
No Demican or Republicrat.
The Gospel makes us radically equal.
Forgiven, beloved, and free.
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We are One in the Spirit, we are One in the Lord
And we pray that all unity will one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians by our Love