Study Desk

I am afraid that when I come to you again, my God will make me humble before you. I may have to cry over the loss of some who sinned before. Many of them have still not changed their hearts to be sorry for their evil lives, their sexual sins, and the shameful things they have done.

This will be my third time to visit you. And remember, "For every complaint there must be two or three people to say that they know it is true."

We pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Our concern here is not for people to see that we have passed the test in our work with you. Our main concern is that you do what is right, even if it looks as if we have failed the test.

Final Warnings and Greetings This will be my third time to visit you. And remember, "For every complaint there must be two or three people to say that they know it is true." When I was with you the second time, I gave a warning to those who had sinned. I am not there now, but I am giving another warning to them and to anyone else who has sinned: When I come to you again, I will punish you. You want proof that Christ is speaking through me. My proof is that he is not weak in dealing with you but is showing his power among you. It is true that Christ was weak when he was killed on the cross, but he lives now by God's power. It is also true that we share his weakness, but in dealing with you, we will be alive in him by God's power. Look closely at yourselves. Test yourselves to see if you are living in the faith. Don't you realize that Christ Jesus is in you? Of course, if you fail the test, he is not in you. But I hope you will see that we have not failed the test. We pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Our concern here is not for people to see that we have passed the test in our work with you. Our main concern is that you do what is right, even if it looks as if we have failed the test. We cannot do anything that is against the truth but only what promotes the truth. We are happy to be weak if you are strong. And this is what we pray—that your lives will be made completely right again. I'm writing this before I come so that when I am there I will not have to use my authority to punish you. The Lord gave me that authority to make you stronger, not to destroy you. Now, brothers and sisters, be filled with joy. Try to make everything right, and do what I have asked you to do. Agree with each other, and live in peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. Give each other the special greeting of God's people. All of God's holy people here send you their greetings. I pray that you will enjoy the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus gave himself for our sins to free us from this evil world we live in. This is what God our Father wanted.

But God had special plans for me even before I was born. So he chose me through his grace.

It pleased him to let me see and know his Son so that I could tell the Good News about him to the non-Jewish people. I immediately prepared to do this work without asking for advice or help from anyone.

but we did not agree with anything those false brothers wanted. We wanted the truth of the Good News to continue for you.

God gave Peter the power to work as an apostle for the Jewish people. God gave me the power to work as an apostle too, but for those who are not Jews.

It was the law itself that caused me to end my life under the law. I died to the law so that I could live for God. I have been nailed to the cross with Christ.

The law says we are under a curse for not always obeying it. But Christ took away that curse. He changed places with us and put himself under that curse. The Scriptures say, "Anyone who is hung on a tree is under a curse."

So what was the law for? The law was given to show the wrong things people do. The law would continue until the special Descendant of Abraham came. This is the Descendant mentioned in the promise, which came directly from God. But the law was given through angels, and the angels used Moses as a mediator to give the law to the people.

But this is not possible. The Scriptures put the whole world in prison under the control of sin, so that the only way for people to get what God promised would be through faith in Jesus Christ. It is given to those who believe in him.

While they are children, they must obey those who are chosen to care for them. But when they reach the age the father set, they are free.

It is the same for us. We were once like children, slaves to the useless rules of this world.

It worries me that you follow teachings about special days, months, seasons, and years. I fear that my work for you has been wasted.

Those people are working hard to persuade you, but this is not good for you. They want to persuade you to turn against us and work hard for them.

It is good for you to work hard, of course, if it is for something good. That's something you should do whether I am there or not.

This true story makes a picture for us. The two women are like the two agreements between God and his people. One agreement is the law that God made on Mount Sinai. The people who are under this agreement are like slaves. The mother named Hagar is like that agreement.

But the other son of Abraham, who was born in the normal way, caused trouble for the one who was born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same today.