Jacob's Well Church

The Gospel changes our perspective on how we view other people. There is no room for division, or seeing someone as less important in the Kingdom of God. In Christ, we become brothers and sisters. Unified by the same blood of the Lamb, and empowered to love one another in a radically empowering way.

The Gospel brings about a change of heart, which changes everything else! The book of Philemon is the only book where the Apostle Paul does not explicitly share or declare the Gospel. But the Gospel is definitely the background and indeed the subtext of this amazing little letter. In this letter we see the wisdom of Paul in dealing with a difficult interpersonal conflict. This conflict has its roots in a very complex and unjust social structure that was established in Roman culture. Paul's answer is not to attack the social structure, but instead to remind each of the readers to consider the implication of the Gospel: That in Christ, there is not male or female, Jew or Gentile slave or free. That in Christ, we are brothers and sisters. How, then, could we not give to others the same freedom that Christ died to give to us. Rather than rely on a harsh command, insisting on compliance without heart change, Paul appealed to Philemon for love's sake, based on the heart change that only the Gospel can bring. In a time with complicated issues separating people, Paul appeals to us to approach our relationships with the Gospel and the example of Jesus as our guide. The Gospel sets us free from the penalty of sin, the power of sin and the fear of death. This gives us the power to love and do good; not as a means of getting our freedom, but as a result of having our freedom.

As we begin our new series on the book of Philemon, we come to the issue of slavery in the Biblical text. This is an incredibly complex and complicated topic, and that leads to a pretty raw conversation as we try to look at the honest implications of slavery in the ancient world.

The Gospel brings about a change of heart, which changes everything else! The book of Philemon is the only book where the Apostle Paul does not explicitly share or declare the Gospel. But the Gospel is definitely the background and indeed the subtext of this amazing little letter. In this letter we see the wisdom of Paul in dealing with a difficult interpersonal conflict. This conflict has its roots in a very complex and unjust social structure that was established in Roman culture. Paul's answer is not to attack the social structure, but instead to remind each of the readers to consider the implication of the Gospel: That in Christ, there is not male or female, Jew or Gentile slave or free. That in Christ, we are brothers and sisters. How, then, could we not give to others the same freedom that Christ died to give to us. Rather than rely on a harsh command, insisting on compliance without heart change, Paul appealed to Philemon for love's sake, based on the heart change that only the Gospel can bring. In a time with complicated issues separating people, Paul appeals to us to approach our relationships with the Gospel and the example of Jesus as our guide. The Gospel sets us free from the penalty of sin, the power of sin and the fear of death. This gives us the power to love and do good; not as a means of getting our freedom, but as a result of having our freedom.

Our freedom in Christ gives us the capacity to love our neighbors in a radically new way. From restoring our brothers, to living in compassion, to the pursuit of unity - this look back at the book of Galatians gives us hope for an everlasting community built on the love of Christ.

The Gospel sets us free from the penalty of Sin, the power of Sin and the fear of Death. This gives us the power to Love and do Good-- Not as a means of getting our freedom, but as a result of having our freedom.

Galatians is all about our freedom in Christ, but that begs the question... what is the purpose of our freedom? The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to see other people the way Jesus does. We are all image-bearers of the King, worthy of love, worthy of investment, worthy of community.

The Apostle Paul warns of two major pitfalls that can keep us from experiencing freedom in Christ. Following the law makes us trust more in our own righteousness than in Jesus' sacrifice. And the desires of the flesh keep us distracted from the life that the Spirit is leading us to. True freedom comes when we trust in Christ Alone and choose to follow the Holy Spirit.

We are always preaching some kind of message to ourselves, and the world is preaching messages to us as well. These messages tend to be negative and destructive, pushing us to one extreme of shame or the other extreme of pride. But centering our lives on the reality of the gospel and on Christ puts everything in the right perspective. In this podcast we talk about the value of preaching the Gospel to ourselves.

Living in the reality of the Gospel makes us Children of God. Forsaking or changing the Gospel leads to slavery.