Whereas many Americans would define someone who is spiritual as being open and tolerant of all religions and philosophies, and someone who is religious as being a close-minded, no-thinking, rule-following, intolerant person, the Bible defines someone who is Spiritual as possessing the Holy Spirit, and being religious as being led by the Spirit to practice what Jesus preaches.

Paul wrote Galatians to encourage them to keep walking by the Spirit, to continue being led by the Spirit and to carry on sowing to the Spirit by practicing what Jesus preaches.

The Bible defines freedom is found in a relationship with God the Father through faith in God the Son which is brought about by God the Holy Spirit.

Paul is concerned for the Galatians because the Jesus PLUS gospel preached by the Judaizers is a false gospel. The True Gospel—the one preached by Paul and the other Apostles is this: we are saved from our sins and spared from the wrath of God by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Thus, Paul’s question: “Who cut in on you?” The Galatians were running well, but were being persuaded to veer off to follow a different Jesus by following a different gospel.

Whereas many Americans define freedom as self-rule and the right to do what we want without any interference by anyone, the Bible defines freedom in terms of a relationship with God the Father through faith in God the Son which is brought about by God the Holy Spirit.

"Evangelism…is the task of communicating a message from the Creator to rebel mankind. The message begins with information and ends with an invitation. The information concerns God’s work of making His Son a perfect Savior for sinners. The invitation is God’s summons to mankind generally to come to the Savior and find life." -- J.I. Packer, "Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God"

On the day of the LORD the holiness of God will be revealed in all its danger and safety. It will be a day of dread and a day of hope; a day of punishment and a day of reward; a day of judgment and a day of salvation.

The imagery of danger and safety is a central theme of Zechariah 14 and his description of the day of the LORD. On that day, the day when Christ returns to judge the earth and all who dwell therein, everyone will discover that God is not safe. The danger in God is His holiness. But it is His holiness that also makes Him good.

God is not safe. There is a danger in God and that danger is His holiness.

Zechariah 14 is filled with frightening images and scary words. And yet, if we are to be good students of the Bible; if we are, as Paul tells Timothy, to present ourselves to God as workmen who need not be ashamed, who use the word of God correctly; then we must not only read the frightening and scary words, but try our best to understand and apply them.