The Better Beautiful // The Answer to Every Question

In this episode, Jeff & Steph pull the car over somewhere around Galatians 3:5 to stretch our legs, check the map, and look at the road ahead. Paul develops a robust theology of justification, adoption, sonship, inheritance, freedom—as well as the less attractive alternatives—in just a couple of chapters in Galatians, and we're about to take a deep dive to wade through them all. And we're feeling...

Jeff & Steph interview Daniel Lancaster, author of the commentary 'The Holy Epistle to the Galatians: Sermons on a Messianic Jewish Approach,' and Director of Education at First Fruits of Zion. Daniel helps us wade through some of the larger questions presented by the Galatian letter, and approach Paul's words within their broader context both culturally and theologically. Find more of Daniel's re...

What *wouldn't* Jesus do? Jeff and Steph ask this pertinent question as we discuss Galatians 3:1-5. How do the questions surrounding Law & Spirit, Jew & Gentile, faith & freedom bear upon us? How does staring at "Christ and Him crucified" safeguard us from the seduction of bewitching words and Gospel perversions? Listen to Part 13 of THE BETTER FREEDOM, "What *Wouldn't Jesus Do? (Gal. 3:1-5)" now

What must we do when we bow the knee to Jesus for the first time? How does this bear upon being either Jew or Gentile? Jeff & Steph discuss Galatians 2:17-21 in this week's installment of THE BETTER FREEDOM. Listen to "All the Law & the Prophets" now:

On the heels of Paul recounting how Peter had "extended the right hand of fellowship" to him and his ministry team, the "apostle to the Gentiles" publicly confronted the man Jesus nicknamed "the rock." Why was this conversation significant, and why did it have to take place publicly? As we so often find in the heart of God, the priority of table fellowship plays a central role in a much larger sto...

Galatians' second chapter describes two encounters and conversations between Paul and Peter: in the first (this week's episode), Peter forfeits an opportunity to lambast Paul for his blood-stained, prideful past, and extended the "right hand of fellowship" to both Paul and Barnabas. In the second (next week's episode), Paul had to publicly bring a word of correction to Peter's leadership culture....

Not long after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the testimony of the crucified and risen Messiah is growing in Syria. A young, zealous Pharisee is on his way to Damascus to extinguish the growing church, "breathing threats of persecution," committed to silencing this spreading sect of Judaism. Then he receives his famous, blinding encounter with the Lord, changing his life forever—and then...

The apostle Paul lived his entire life "set apart," seeking to honor the legacy of his fathers. His encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road took those ambitions, and leveraged them for a better consecration and a better Father, illuminating Paul's life and identity as a son with eternity and joy. Yet as he reflects on it, he makes a significant distinction: it was not simply that Jesus was revea...

Allegiance to and obedience to Jesus can only be done one way: all or nothing. That's always been true of discipleship, and it'll always be true of discipleship. In Episode 7 of THE BETTER FREEDOM, Jeff & Steph spend some additional time in verses 1:6-12 to consider Paul's singular focus to face one direction and live such that God would see the apostle's life and smile. How can we do the same? Li...

With the opening greeting to the churches of Galatia behind us, we move now into the meat of the letter—and Paul wastes no time telling us how he really feels. Consider Gal. 1:6: "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the Gospel of Christ." He goe...

Paul consistently opens his letters with emotionally and theologically charged greetings; Galatians is no different. He closes his introduction with verse five: "to Whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." But what is the glory of God? How is it distinct to Him, and how can we know it? Jeff and Steph grapple with the glory of God in episode five of THE BETTER FREEDOM, a season of The Better Beau...

"Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father." With these words, Paul deflates any prosperous dreams for a "best" life being available or accessible in this age—this "present evil age." But he does powerfully and succinctly identify the totality of all we are...

"Paul, an apostle—not from men or by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead— and all the brothers who are with me: To the churches of Galatia. Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. To Him be the glory forever and ever....

Jeff and Steph discuss Paul's firecracker opening in his letter to the churches of Galatia: "Paul, an apostle—not from men or by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead—" Why was it appropriate and necessary for Paul to play a (very legitimate) "thus saith the Lord" card when it came to his own qualifications and authority to speak into the Galatian church communit...

The Better Beautiful returns with Season 4: THE BETTER FREEDOM. Join Jeff & Steph for the first of many (many many) conversations exploring & embracing the God-given Good News expounded upon in Paul's letter to the churches of Galatia. Happy New Year, and Maranatha!

In this bonus off-season episode, Jeff and Steph discuss Luke 24's "burning heart" and why it's required to serve strategically in this moment in human history. Explore our in-person and online training opportunities in 2022 at faitraining.org

'The Better Thing' ends with 'Part III: The Accessible, Sustaining Beauty.' What could possibly enthrall, invite, entice, and captivate you "all the days" of your life? The best news is this: it's not just that David prioritized the pursuit of the Better Beautiful all the days of his life—it's that God sanctified his prayer in the Scriptures. Meaning this: David's prayer is actually God's invitati...

Our pit stop in Psalm 27:4 en route to next season's journey through Galatians sets us this week in Part II of 'The Better Thing.' David set a vision to pursue, behold, and prioritize the beauty of the Lord 'all the days' of his life—his bad days, his good days, his wretched days, his battle days, his bored-out-his-mind days. We have to do the same. Good things take time. The best thing is worth a...

The human heart obeys that which it desires. This is why David's lifelong commitment and calibration to the "one thing" of Psalm 27:4 kept him from wandering onto the wide road that leads to destruction. If you want to walk the "narrow way" that leads to life, if you want to "finish the race set before you," then you need to lock your eyes on this ONE THING. What is it? Join Jeff & Steph for the f...

Season 3's meditation on Philippians 2:5-11 comes to an end with "Part XIV: Death, Joy, and Final Words from a Father." We extend our conversation into verses 12-18, and consider Paul's "therefore" words for his beloved Philippian family, knowing well these words could've been his last. What were they, and how should we hear them today?

In this season's second-to-last episode, we approach the end of Philippians 2:5-11's incredible hymn. As Paul testifies to the super-exaltation (i.e. reward) of Jesus' all-in obedience, he closes with these words: "to the glory of God the Father." Jeff & Steph discuss the implications of these words, and weave corresponding passages from the biblical testimony throughout the conversation. Listen t...

The Day of the LORD is coming, when Jesus is exalted above everything and everyone everywhere—in word, and deed. Every knee will bend and every mouth will declare His glory—even the most vile blasphemers among us still. This is the Day when injustices cease, and we want it to come. But as the prophets tell us, this Day is both "great" and "terrible." Jeff and Steph discuss the less popular, less s...

In this Special Edition of 'The Better Beautiful,' Jeff & Steph discuss recent events in Afghanistan. How do we continue to care for and carry burdensome grief and advocacy? What is God doing in Afghanistan, and how do we pray and partner with Him strategically and effectively? PLEASE NOTE // This episode was recorded before the devastating attacks at the Kabul airport SUPPORT THE AFGHAN UNDERGROU...

'The Better Beautiful' returns with Part 11 of 'The Better Surrender: The Name Above All Names.' Join Jeff and Steph for an extended conversation on Philippians 2:5-11, zeroing in this week on verses 9-10a, to meditate on the only Name that saves—the only Name that matters.

This week, we hit verse 9 in the Christological Everest that is Philippians 2:5-11. Likely an early church hymn, this text arrests us and puts us right where we belong: beneath the super-exalted King. Our surest freedom comes only on the terms of this sure truth: He is and will be preeminent in all things. Listen to Part X of The Better Surrender now: The Super-Theology of the Super-Exalted