A Bible Study in EasyEnglish (1200 word vocabulary) on Paul’s letter to the Galatians
Keith Simons
This commentary has received Advanced Theological Checking, by an independent Theological Checker. Our EasyEnglish lexicon, grammar, and checking facilities are kindly provided by Wycliffe Associates (UK).
A word list at the end explains words with a *star by them.
Last part: People soon believe wrong ideas
Galatians 5:13-15
Some people think only about themselves
People may say, ‘If people do not have to obey rules, then they will do many wrong things.’ This is correct if people only want to make themselves happy. Those people think only about their lives now. That is, in this world. They are thinking about their bodies and not their *spirits.
But that is not what Christians should do.
Christians should love other people
Christians are free because God made them free. God did that because he loves people (John 3:16). And so Christians should love other people too. Because Christ loved, he became like a servant (Mark 10:45). And because Christians love, they too should be like servants (John 13:14-17). They must not be cruel to each other. But if they let the *Holy Spirit help them, they will love each other.
When Christians love other people, they are obeying God’s rules
And if Christians love each other, then they really are obeying God’s rules. Paul repeats Leviticus 19:18. Jesus also said that this verse is very important (Mark 12:31). Paul explains that this is the purpose of all God’s rules. God did not make rules so that people would have rules to obey! God made the rules so that people would learn to love each other.
So Paul was not teaching anything that was against God’s rules. He was teaching Christians to love other people. That was what God wanted his people to do. God made his rules for that purpose. He made the rules so that people would love him. And if they did that, they would love other people too.
Next part: Why Christians need the *Holy Spirit
© 2010, Keith Simons.