The clarity of the gospel was distorted by false teaching in the church of Galatia. Paul confronted the deadly error from his apostolic authority and pastoral heart, by explaining concisely the essence of the Gospel and how it is lived out... all so they, and we, would be Freed Up!

False teachers were distorting the gospel message and undermining the gospel messenger. They said since Paul wasn’t one of Jesus’ original disciples, he wasn’t a genuine apostle. Paul defends himself as one of God's agents for the gospel by describing how he received his calling directly from Jesus Christ.

In the opening verses, Paul described his authority and summarized the Gospel—grace to you, glory to God because of the cross of Jesus Christ. He then forgoes his typical pattern of prayer, praise and thanksgiving because he is astonished at the trade they have made—the freedom found in the grace of Christ for the bondage of “another” Gospel.

Today, we dive into the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians. It was the first letter he wrote addressing specific and critical concerns for the first-century churches in Galatia. This letter is as timely and relevant for us today as it was for its original recipients. It will be our guide to breaking free through the Gospel of all that’s entangling us. Let’s embrace the Gospel, all of it, and get fully and finally . . . Freed Up!

Today, we transition to the middle section of Mark’s Gospel. Jesus begins deliberately and methodically teaching his disciples, and us, that He must suffer, die and rise again in order to fulfill His role as the Messiah.