James addresses his letter to “the twelve tribes in the Dispersion”. It could be that he is writing to a group of Jewish believers who have been scattered beyond their homeland of Palestine. Or he could be speaking more broadly of a mixed group of believers – Jew and Gentile – scattered in the world. In either case, he emphasizes a key truth about their situation: they are away from home, scattered, isolated, and probably feeling vulnerable. These believers are under pressure and facing trials. The situation for Christians today is not too different—they too are scattered in the world, conscious of being away from their spiritual homeland, and facing pressure or opposition.

The connection between gospel and godliness – truth and transformation – is one of the central themes of the book of Titus. Paul opens his letter with it in verse 1: “…the knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness”. Then, Paul comes back to this theme to reinforce it in Titus 3:8: “The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.” Paul wants his readers in Crete to understand that the truth of the gospel always leads to life change. The Christians in Crete needed to hear about life transformation because they were living in a pretty toxic culture.

Paul makes this urgent plea: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Gal. 5:1) This plea is relevant today because, despite the passage of time and the changes of culture, the human heart remains susceptible to the subtle lie that our salvation depends upon our own moral and religious record (and not upon Jesus alone).

In Galatians 3, Paul points out that the doctrine of justification by faith had been right under their noses all the way through biblical history. Paul draws from the story of Abraham and quotes from the book of Genesis: “Consider Abraham: ‘He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’” (verse 6). Paul is showing here that the gospel of salvation by faith first appeared in the opening pages of Scripture.

God planned our salvation, He achieved it by his Son, and it is all for His glory. What a contrast this genuine gospel is to the worldly, human-centred, works-based gospel that the Galatians had heard from impostors. And what a contrast this genuine gospel is to the religious systems we encounter around us today!