Waking Up to Grace

Why did Paul rebuke Peter in Antioch? Was Peter preaching a different gospel, falling back into legalism, or was something else happening when he withdrew from the Gentile believers?

In this conversation, we examine Galatians 2 alongside Peter’s encounter with Cornelius in Acts 10 and Paul’s teaching in Romans 14. Peter’s actions are described as hypocrisy, not apostasy, raising an important question about what was really at stake in Antioch. Was the conflict primarily about what Peter was eating, or did his separation from the Gentiles communicate that Jewish believers occupied an inner circle of fellowship and salvation?

We follow the relationship between Jews and Gentiles, the circumcision party, table fellowship, and the truth of the gospel as we work toward a clearer understanding of why Paul confronted Peter publicly.

Read the companion study and join the conversation:
https://wakinguptograce.com/063-paul-rebukes-peter-part-1-galatians-2-11/

God shows no favoritism. In Romans 2:11, Paul gives us a simple statement that opens the door to a much larger question: What did God's impartiality mean for Jews and Gentiles living together in the first-century church?

In this conversation, we look at Paul's argument in Romans, Israel's calling to be a light to the nations, the relationship between the Law and the gospel, and Paul's desire to win both Jews and Gentiles to Christ without showing partiality. We also consider the Jerusalem Council, Timothy's circumcision, and Paul's words that he became “all things to all people” so that he might save some.

Romans 2:11 helps establish the ground beneath Paul's argument: neither Jew nor Gentile could claim a privileged standing before God. God shows no favoritism, and Paul sought to live and preach the gospel with that same concern for both.

Read the companion study and join the conversation:
https://wakinguptograce.com/062-god-shows-no-partiality-romans-2-11/

What if the second coming of Christ is not an event Christians should still be waiting for? Futurist theology moves Christ’s coming, judgment, the rapture, and many of the New Testament’s prophetic promises into our future. But what happens when those passages are read according to their original audiences and the time statements Jesus and the apostles actually gave?

In this episode, we work through ten ways futurism can affect Christian faith and life. We look at repeated end-times predictions, fear surrounding the return of Christ, rapture expectations, the temptation to make life decisions around a supposedly imminent end, and the loss of hope or action that can follow. We also examine how futurist theology has shaped Christian beliefs about modern national Israel, Zionism, a future Jewish temple, and the idea that present-day political events are fulfilling biblical prophecy.

At the center of the conversation is a simple question: if Jesus and the apostles spoke of the second coming of Christ as something their first-century generation would witness, why are Christians still waiting for it today?

Read the companion Bible study and join the conversation:
 https://wakinguptograce.com/061-ten-reasons-futurism-is-destructive/

What did Paul mean when he wrote that those who seek “glory and honor and immortality” would receive eternal life?

In Romans 2:7, Paul was writing to people who were still looking forward to resurrection, redemption, and the fulfillment of God’s promises. In this episode, we explore what those words meant to Paul’s first-century audience, how they connect with the resurrection of the dead and the return of Christ, and why the distinction between promise and possession matters.

The apostles had received the Spirit and the promise of redemption, but they were still waiting for what God had promised to complete. The good news for believers today is that we are not still standing on the other side of that promise. In Christ, redemption, eternal life, and the finished work of God are ours.

Read the companion Bible study and join the conversation:
https://wakinguptograce.com/060-glory-and-honor-and-immortality-romans-2-7/

What is the Day of the Lord, and what does Paul mean when he says tribulation and distress would come to the Jew first and also to the Greek?

Paul and Jesus connect the Day of the Lord with judgment, Christ’s coming, and the resurrection of the dead. In this episode, we follow those connections through Romans 2, Matthew 24, 2 Thessalonians, Revelation, and other passages to see why these events cannot simply be separated from one another or pushed thousands of years into the future.

We’ll also look at why Paul includes both Jew and Gentile in this judgment, what Scripture means when Christ comes "on the clouds," why the first-century believers were still waiting for the fullness of salvation, and how the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple marked the end of the Old Covenant order and the full establishment of the New Covenant age.

Read the companion study and continue the conversation:
https://wakinguptograce.com/059-the-jew-first-and-also-the-greek-romans-2-9-11/

What is the great tribulation, and why does Paul say tribulation and distress come to the Jew first? Romans 2:9–11 raises a question about judgment that reaches back to the covenant God made with Israel.

In this message, I follow that question through the Song of Moses, the warnings of the prophets, John the Baptist’s announcement of judgment, and Jesus’ words about the destruction of the temple. We consider who received those warnings and what their timing meant for the people who first heard them.

The great tribulation belongs to the first-century judgment on Jerusalem and the close of the old covenant temple order. We examine the prophetic language of the Day of the Lord, the events surrounding AD 70, and the connection Jesus makes between tribulation and His coming.

Along the way, we return to the good news at the heart of Paul’s letter: righteousness comes through faith in Christ. In Him, we have reconciliation with God and can serve our Father with a clear conscience.

Read the companion study and continue the conversation:
https://wakinguptograce.com/058-tribulation-for-the-jew-first-romans-2-9-11/

What is preterism, and how does it change the way we understand biblical prophecy?

In this episode, we explore the difference between full and partial preterism and examine the case that many passages commonly placed in our future were speaking about events that would be fulfilled in the first century, culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

We look closely at Jesus’ words in Matthew 24 and Luke 21, along with other passages concerning His coming, judgment, the kingdom, and the repeated New Testament expectation that these events were near. Instead of beginning with a modern end-times system, we ask a more basic question: What did these prophecies mean to the people who first heard them?

Read the companion study and join the conversation:
https://wakinguptograce.com/057-what-is-preterism/

What does Romans 2 mean, and who is Paul actually talking to when he warns about judgment, wrath, and being judged according to works?

In this conversation, we walk through Romans 2:1–11 in context and look closely at Paul’s use of rhetoric. We consider the “O man” language, the danger of placing ourselves into Paul’s imaginary opponent, and why Romans 2 can sound like works-based salvation when it is separated from the argument Paul is building. We also examine glory, honor, repentance, belief and unbelief, and Paul’s developing focus on the Jew and the Greek.

Understanding how Paul communicates helps us read these difficult verses without turning God’s righteous judgment into a message of fear and religious performance.

Read the companion study and join the conversation:
https://wakinguptograce.com/056-gods-judgment-and-pauls-rhetoric-romans-2-1-11/

Paul gives some sobering warnings that certain people “will not inherit the kingdom of God.” But who is he talking about? Is Paul warning Christians that falling into particular sins could cost them their place in God’s kingdom?

In this episode, we look at Romans 1 alongside Galatians 5 and 1 Corinthians 6 to examine Paul’s descriptions of godless behavior, the difference between identity and conduct, and why these warnings were still important for believers to understand. Paul does not leave Christians staring at a list of sins in fear. He reminds them that they were washed, sanctified, and justified, and points them toward walking by the Spirit rather than returning to the ways of the flesh.

We’ll also consider why understanding sin helps us appreciate grace more deeply, why Christian behavior grows from our identity in Christ rather than fear of losing that identity, and what Paul means when he contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit.

Read the companion study and join the conversation:
https://wakinguptograce.com/055-sinners-will-not-inherit-life-romans-1-29-32/

What does freedom in Christ actually mean, and can that freedom be misunderstood in a way that leads us back into bondage?

Grace has set us free from condemnation and from trying to make ourselves right with God through law and religious performance. But Christian freedom was never meant to leave us following our own desires without the Lord’s guidance. Paul’s description of godlessness in Romans 1 gives us a picture of life turned away from God, while Romans 12 points us toward transformation through the renewal of our minds.

In this episode, we look at walking by the Spirit, renewing our minds through Scripture, and what it means to follow the Lord’s lead without returning to legalism. Grace does not make sin meaningless. It gives us a secure relationship with our Father in which we are free to trust Him, listen to Him, and live as the people He has made us to be.

Read the companion study and join the conversation:
https://wakinguptograce.com/054-lost-in-the-freedom-of-grace-romans-1-29-32/