FAI Central

What *wouldn't* Jesus do? Jeff and Steph ask this pertinent question as we discuss Galatians 3:1-5. How do the questions surrounding Law & Spirit, Jew & Gentile, faith & freedom bear upon us? How does staring at "Christ and Him crucified" safeguard us from the seduction of bewitching words and Gospel perversions?

Listen to Part 13 of THE BETTER FREEDOM, "What *Wouldn't Jesus Do? (Gal. 3:1-5)" now

In this episode, Gabe reads his latest Wire special report: Unpegging the Petrodollar, exploring the past, present and future of the US Petrodollar.

What must we do when we bow the knee to Jesus for the first time? How does this bear upon being either Jew or Gentile? Jeff & Steph discuss Galatians 2:17-21 in this week's installment of THE BETTER FREEDOM. Listen to "All the Law & the Prophets" now:

On the heels of Paul recounting how Peter had "extended the right hand of fellowship" to him and his ministry team, the "apostle to the Gentiles" publicly confronted the man Jesus nicknamed "the rock." Why was this conversation significant, and why did it have to take place publicly? As we so often find in the heart of God, the priority of table fellowship plays a central role in a much larger story.

Listen to Episode 11 of THE BETTER FREEDOM, "A Confrontation with Justification (Gal. 2:11-17)," now

Galatians' second chapter describes two encounters and conversations between Paul and Peter: in the first (this week's episode), Peter forfeits an opportunity to lambast Paul for his blood-stained, prideful past, and extended the "right hand of fellowship" to both Paul and Barnabas. In the second (next week's episode), Paul had to publicly bring a word of correction to Peter's leadership culture.

The "better freedom" Jesus brings us into has both individual and corporate ramifications and implications. Galatians 2 offers a glimpse of how this worked with the early apostles, who each received a revelation of Jesus that then bore the fruit of a rapidly reproducing, decentralized disciple-making movement in the first century.

Jeff and Steph explore this first encounter this week in Galatians 2:1-10. Listen to "THE BETTER FREEDOM Part 10: Revelation & Decentralization" now here in the FAI App

Gabe hosts Devon to discuss her latest Wire special report regarding the history of Russia in the Middle East, and implications for the present conflict in Ukraine.

Not long after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the testimony of the crucified and risen Messiah is growing in Syria. A young, zealous Pharisee is on his way to Damascus to extinguish the growing church, "breathing threats of persecution," committed to silencing this spreading sect of Judaism. Then he receives his famous, blinding encounter with the Lord, changing his life forever—and then spent the next three years in Arabia. Where did he go, and why did he do that?

Jeff and Steph discuss Paul's apostolic formation in Arabia in Episode 09 of THE BETTER FREEDOM. Listen now.

The apostle Paul lived his entire life "set apart," seeking to honor the legacy of his fathers. His encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road took those ambitions, and leveraged them for a better consecration and a better Father, illuminating Paul's life and identity as a son with eternity and joy. Yet as he reflects on it, he makes a significant distinction: it was not simply that Jesus was revealed *to* Paul—what changed his life forever was God the Father's revelation of God the Son *in* Paul, with local and global implications.

Join Jeff and Steph for a conversation surrounding Galatians 1:13-16, "The Revealing of the Son," in our THE BETTER FREEDOM series on Galatians now

Allegiance to and obedience to Jesus can only be done one way: all or nothing. That's always been true of discipleship, and it'll always be true of discipleship. In Episode 7 of THE BETTER FREEDOM, Jeff & Steph spend some additional time in verses 1:6-12 to consider Paul's singular focus to face one direction and live such that God would see the apostle's life and smile. How can we do the same?

Listen to "Face Face One Direction, and God Will Smile" now right here in the FAI App

With the opening greeting to the churches of Galatia behind us, we move now into the meat of the letter—and Paul wastes no time telling us how he really feels. Consider Gal. 1:6: "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the Gospel of Christ." He goes on to condemn anyone who perverts of distorts the Gospel—himself included, should he be so reckless and foolish—to hell and everlasting curse. But this is a letter about everlasting liberty conquering the curse, so what gives?

Listen to "The Claws & Fury of the Apostolic Mama Bear (Gal. 1:6-12)," the latest episode in our Galatians series THE BETTER FREEDOM now