Galatians

Behind the Mask and Beyond the Hypocrisy

/ Bob / Leave a comment

Galatians 3 opens with a conflict between Peter and Paul.  It seems that Peter – who had been shown by God in a vision and in an encounter with a Gentile family that being a Gentile with Gentile ways was not a barrier to faith – was a little wishy-washy in living out those new found beliefs around his Jewish friends and James in particular.  Paul called him out on it, called him a hypocrite, and then began to explain to the Galatians that legalistic living is not for the one who professes faith in Christ.  He detailed how we have been crucified with Christ so that living by the legal system of the Jews was not just pointless, it was a slap in the face of Christ Himself.  We must all be careful not to hide behind a mask of self-righteousness but rather live in the freedom and honesty of Christ Who has redeemed us and Who lives within and through us.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, February 15, 2026. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons, which covers the Book of Galatians, is A Cry for Freedom: Grace that Is Still Amazing. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/a-cry-for-freedom-galatians-study-guide/ . Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


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Circumcised or Not?

/ Bob / Leave a comment

Circumcision is a major theme of both the Old and New Testaments. And circumcision is definitely a point of discussion and contention in the Book of Galatians. It was contentious because of the importance placed on circumcision by the Judaizers with whom Paul had a serious objection. In order to understand the arguments on both sides, we take a look at the concept of circumcision from both sides of the argument.

The ultimate conclusion is that traditional circumcision is not required for salvation. As we read in Colossians 2:12 “You were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.” It’s not because you were circumcised or not. It’s not because you were baptized or not. It’s not because you go to church or not. It’s not because you pray or not. It’s not because you read the Bible or not. It’s not because you do good things. These things you do because you were raised to New Life in Jesus!

When we accept Jesus as Savior, He changes us from the inside out. He “cuts off” (circumcises) our sins and our fleshly nature and makes us a new creation – a whole new person who wants to honor Him and bring glory to His name in all we say and do. Hallelujah!

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, February 8, 2026. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons, which covers the Book of Galatians, is A Cry for Freedom: Grace that Is Still Amazing. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/a-cry-for-freedom-galatians-study-guide/ . Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


Website – FromTheBackPorch.org
Facebook – From the Back Porch in Texas

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Email – fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com

Class Notes – 02.08.2026 – Lesson 3 – Circumcised or NotDownload

Galatians: The Rule (and Domination) of Law

/ Bob

The Rule of Law is the system under which we live in America. We press for law and order. If something doesn’t seem right we want to pass a law or at least a rule to fix the problem. We live daily with thousands of laws and rules and guidelines and procedures – some of which we can live with and some of which cause us great irritation.

When Paul addresses the Galatians he actually calls them foolish for following the law. But specifically he was saying that the law was given to show us our transgressions, but that it was incapable of saving anyone. Salvation comes by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. The Galatians and we, by extension, cannot be good enough to earn our way into heaven. To accept the grace of God as found in the atoning work of Christ and then decide we are going to try to be good enough for God to accept us is nothing more than a slap in the face of God. It’s not just foolish – it’s ungratefully rude.

Jesus said in John 14:15 that if we love Him we will keep His commandments. He did not say that if we keep His commandments we will love Him. We must do the things He wants us to do, but not because it’s some kind of fraternal initiation to get us into heaven, but because we truly love Jesus and want to honor Him in all we do.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, September 18, 2022. It is part of a series of Bible study sessions from The Gospel Project – a Bible study curriculum developed by Lifeway Christian Resources. Handouts with slide content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com

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class-notes-9.18.2022-galatians-the-rule-and-domination-of-law-1Download