Words for The Wise, The Fellowship of the Faithful, Galatians 3, English Standard Version (UK)

Galatians 3 English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

By Faith, or by Works of the Law?

3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. ² Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by^[a] the flesh? ⁴ Did you suffer^[b] so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? ⁵ Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— ⁶ just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

⁷ Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. ⁸ And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify^[c] the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” ⁹ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

¹⁰ For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” ¹¹ Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”^[d] 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” ¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— ¹⁴ so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit^[e] through faith.

The Law and the Promise

¹⁵ To give a human example, brothers:^[f] even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. ¹⁶ Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings”, referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring”, who is Christ.¹⁷ This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterwards, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.¹⁸ For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

¹⁹ Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. ²⁰ Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

²¹ Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. ²² But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

²³ Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. ²⁴ So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, ²⁶ for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. ²⁷ For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave^[g]nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

New Spiritual Relationships in Christ (3:26-27)

In the old set of relationships under the law, Jews were the children of God and Gentiles were sinners (see 2:15). But now Gentile Christians are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. This must have been a shocking declaration for a Jew to hear. In Jewish literature, sons of God was a title of highest honour, used only for "the members of righteous Israel, destined to inherit the eschatological blessings" (Byrne 1979:174). But now Gentiles—the rejected, the outsiders, the sinners, those who do not observe the law—are called sons of God. Indeed this is a "new creation" (6:15).

How could a Gentile ever be called a child of God? Paul's answer is clear—through faith in Christ Jesus (v. 26). Since Christ Jesus is the "Son of God" (2:20), all who by faith are in Christ are also sons of God.

The next verse points to the basis for the new spiritual relationship depicted by this title, sons of God: they are children of God because they have been united with Christ in baptism and, as a result, clothed with Christ. In the light of his repeated emphasis on faith in this context, Paul cannot possibly mean that the ritual of baptism by itself, apart from faith, would accomplish union with Christ. Only when there is genuine faith in Christ is baptism a sign of union with Christ.

 Paul is reminding the Galatian Christians of their baptism in order to renew their sense of belonging to Christ. That ceremony of initiation into Christ and the Christian community points to the solid foundation for their new relationship as children of God. Moreover, their baptism has led to being clothed . . . with Christ. This metaphor, probably drawn from the ceremony of rerobing after baptism, pictures the reality of complete identification with Christ. In the Old Testament there are frequent references to being clothed with righteousness, salvation, strength and glory (2 Chron 6:41; Job 29:14; Ps 132:9, 16, 18; Prov 31:25; Is 51:9; 52:1; 61:10; Zech 3:3-5). And in other letters Paul uses this metaphor of putting on clothing to mean taking on the virtues of Christ (Col 3:12; 1 Thess 5:8).

 As baptism pictures the initial union with Christ by faith, being clothed with Christ portrays our participation in the moral perfection of Christ by faith. As the hymnwriter put it, Christians are "dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne." That is why Christians can be called the children of God: in Christ they truly are the members of righteous Israel.

The title sons of God and the two ceremonies of baptism and being clothed with Christ point to the reality of our new relationship with God in Christ.

The Bible Panorama

Galatians 3

V 1–9: FOOLISHNESS AND FAITH Paul now tells the Galatians that it is foolish to seek to be perfected in Christ by keeping Jewish legal observances. We are saved by faith and indwelt by the Holy Spirit because, like Abraham, we believe and trust in the promise of God. 

V 10–14: CHRIST WAS CURSED To attempt to be saved by keeping God’s law and then to fail would mean coming under the curse of God’s judgement on sin. But Christ has taken our sin and our curse when He died on the cross in our place. When we trust Him, we are forgiven, cleansed, and counted as righteous because He has been cursed in our place. God gives us His Spirit to confirm this. The principle is the same as that through which Abraham was blessed, namely receiving God’s promise through faith.

 V 15–18: PERMANENCE OF PROMISE Paul stresses that there is only one spiritual seed of Abraham. It is not to do with Jewish nationality or race, but with trusting God’s promise. In that sense, Abraham is the father of all who are justified by faith in God’s promise, whether Jew or Gentile. The arrival of the law, 430 years after the promise to Abraham, cannot annul that fact. In Christ we are saved through trusting God’s promise. 

V 19–25: LAW IS LEGITIMATE The law is not intended to make us righteous before God and cannot do so. It is not against the promises of God, but shows us our sin, so that it leads us to faith in Christ alone. Righteousness and salvation become ours only in Christ, as we trust Him, realising that we can do nothing to save ourselves. The law imprisons us, but faith in Christ sets us free. Just as a tutor would lead an infant to school for education, the law leads us to Christ for salvation. He is our mediator.

  V 26–29: SONS IN SALVATION Faith in Christ makes us sons of God and, as those who have believed Him, also Abraham’s spiritual seed. We inherit that ancient promise in our crucified and living Saviour. So does every other Christian, irrespective of background, social status or gender.

 The Bible Panorama. Copyright © 2005 Day One Publications.

Part 2 Words for The Wise, Living in Purpose, Galatians 2 NIV

Part 4 Words for The Wise, From Slavery to Sonship, Our Status in Christ

Yours because of His Grace

Blair Humphreys

Southport,  Merseyside, England

Words for The Wise, Living in Purpose, Galatians 2 NIV

 

Galatians 2 New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Paul accepted by the apostles

2 Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

6 As for those who were held in high esteem – whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favouritism – they added nothing to my message. 7 On the contrary, they recognised that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised,[a] just as Peter had been to the circumcised.[b] 8 For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9 James, Cephas[c] and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognised the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.

Paul opposes Cephas

11 When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, ‘You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

15 ‘We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in[d] Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

17 ‘But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a law-breaker.

19 ‘For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!’[e]

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

A Personal Confession of Faith (2:19-21)

The points of agreement and disagreement that Paul sets forth in response to the crisis in Antioch (and Galatia) are founded upon his own personal confession of faith in Christ (vv. 19-20). His faith in Christ involved both a death and a new life. When Paul says Through the law I died to the law, he is not speaking of physical death. In his vocabulary, to die to something means to have no further relation to it (see Rom 6:2, 10-11). So to die to the law means, in this context, to cease to be under the supervision of the law.

Paul's death to the law was accomplished through the law (v. 19). The phrase through the law is taken by some interpreters as a reference to Paul's own subjective experience under the law. The law led him to discover his inability to keep the law and its inability to make him righteous. Thus it was through the law that Paul was finally led to abandon the law as the means to righteousness and to seek salvation in Christ. But this interpretation is not warranted by the immediate context. Paul does not say in this context that he died to the law because of his terrible sense of guilt and frustration under the law. Instead he declares that his death was accomplished by identification with the cross of Christ—I have been crucified with Christ (v. 20). When we interpret through the law in light of this declaration, I have been crucified with Christ, then we can see that death to the law through the law is accomplished by identification with the death of Christ. Paul explains in the next chapter that the law pronounced a curse on Christ as he hung on the cross (3:13). In this sense Christ died through the law. By crucifixion with Christ, believers also die because of the curse of the law on the one who hangs on the cross—and so, in this sense, they also die through the law. The perfect tense of the verb have been crucified points to the permanent condition of Christians in relation to the law: we remain dead and fully punished. Therefore the law can no longer condemn us.

When we make Paul's confession of faith in Christ our own, we must keep in mind both the spiritual and social dimensions of our union with Christ. Without the social dimension, our faith in Christ degenerates into individualism. We then become interested only in our personal faith and neglect to maintain and express our union with all believers in Christ. Such individualism has been a root cause of constant division in the church. But without the spiritual dimension, all efforts to maintain unity in the church are fruitless. Not until we can truly know and experience the reality of Paul's affirmation—I no longer live, but Christ lives in me—will we be able to live in true harmony with our brothers and sisters in Christ. For until then we will be ego-centered, not Christ-centered.

"Not often, but every once in a while, God brings us to a major turning point--a great crossroads in our life. From that point we either go more and more toward a slow, lazy, and useless Christian life, or we become more and more on fire, giving our utmost for His highest--our best for His glory." --Oswald Chambers, from the My Utmost for His Highest

The Bible Panorama

Galatians 2

V 1–5: CONFIRMATION Fourteen years later, Paul, along with Barnabas and Titus, went to Jerusalem to meet the other apostles. He confirmed that the truth that he preached was given to him directly by God. It was the same truth that God had given to the other apostles. There was, right from the start, a real concern that no falseness, especially legalism, should creep into the doctrine and spoil the truth ‘even for an hour’. Titus, a Greek, was not compelled to undergo circumcision. That Jewish rite could never bestow salvation.

 V 6–10: COMMISSION God confirmed to Peter, James and John that Paul was His apostle. Accordingly they commissioned him, along with Barnabas, to take the gospel to the Gentiles. They also were asked to remember the poor.

 V 11–15: CONFRONTATION Later, when Peter came to Antioch, Paul confronted him openly because Peter’s correct practice of eating with the Gentiles was suspended when Jews came along. Paul saw this as a hypocritical undermining of the gospel, which adversely affected the Jews and even his companion Barnabas.

V 16–21: CORRECTION Paul insisted to them that it was only by grace in Christ that anyone could be saved, and that salvation could only come by personal faith in Him. In dying to justification by the works of the law, and living by faith in the Son of God, Paul taught that Christians should reflect the fact that salvation is by grace and not by the works of the law. The death of Christ and His risen life are fundamental to this. The false teaching of salvation by works empties the cross of Christ of its real meaning and purpose.

The reason for your life part 2 (Elim Missions)

Galatians 2

We continue to examine how Paul's purpose (the gospel of grace) shaped his life.

6. Purpose brings confidence, v6-10.

v6, The "seemed to be important” is v2 “those who seemed to be leaders” is

v9 “James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars”.

Who were they?

James (not the apostle) – brother of Jesus, leader of the council of Jerusalem

(Acts 15), leader of the elders in Jerusalem Church.

Peter – leading apostle, fantastic Jewish ministry.

John – disciple whom Jesus loved, son of Zebedee, brother of James, one of the Twelve. Later wrote Gospel, 3 letters and Revelation.

Paul lived with purpose and in so doing he was not intimidated by: reputation (v6) or appearance (v6).

What Paul was saying was that he was equal in ministry, God was at work in Paul just as much as them.

Leaders can get things wrong just like any other human being and if you spot this, it doesn't mean you are a Jezebel or that you are touching the anointing, you are as anointed as anyone, v11-14.

Just because man puts man on a pedestal and because man likes being up there is not the sign they are above you.

Experience tells you what to do; confidence allows you to do it.

In his inaugural speech, Nelson Mandela in 1994 said this:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us...

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others.

Without being rude and above reproach we do need to break free from the intimidation of the reputation and appearance of man and let others copy the beauty of living with purpose.

 Part 1 Words for The Wise, Living the Gospel Empowered Life, Galatians 1

Part 3 Words for The Wise, The Fellowship of the Faithful, Galatians 3, English Standard Version (UK)

Words for The Wise, Living the Gospel Empowered Life, Galatians 1

Galatians 1 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Introduction

1 Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), 2 and all the brethren who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:

3 Grace to you and peace from [a]God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil [b]age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.

Perversion of the Gospel

6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you [c]by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel [d]contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be [e]accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel [f]contrary to what you received, he is to be [g]accursed!

10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.

Paul Defends His Ministry

11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

13 For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; 14 and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my [h]countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. 15 But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with [i]flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus.

18 Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to [j]become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 But I did not see any other of the apostles except [k]James, the Lord’s brother. 20 (Now in what I am writing to you, [l]I assure you before God that I am not lying.) 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was still unknown by [m]sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; 23 but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they were glorifying God [n]because of me.

Word Wealth,  New Spirit Filled Life Bible

Galatians 1v6 called,  Greek,  kaleo,  Strongs#

From the root kal,  the source of the English words  “ call” and “clamor” The word is used to invite or to summon, and is especially used of God’s call to participate in the blessings of the Kingdom (Romans 8.30, 9:24-25)

Romans 8:30Modern English Version (MEV)

30 And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified.

Romans 9:24-25English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people’,    and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved’.”

Elim Missions

Galatians 1

1. v6-9 Living with purpose keeps the important issues important.

See how many times Paul mentions the gospel, it was his and our purpose, that man is justified by grace through faith alone.

2. v10 Living with purpose leaves no concern for popularity.

We all like to be liked but at the cost of our purpose, it is not worth it.

3. v12 Living with purpose can be taught but also caught from God.

4. v17 Living with purpose is caught in the desert places.

5. v21-24 Living with purpose builds your testimony.

The Bible Panorama

Galatians 1

V 1–2: GREETING In his greeting to the churches of Galatia, Paul stresses that his apostleship is God-given, and reminds them immediately of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. One of the characteristics of an apostle is that he has seen the risen Lord personally.

 V 3–5: GRACE Paul wishes them God’s grace and peace. He reminds them that the basis of blessing is that Christ has died for our sins to ‘deliver us from this present evil age’. This was always in God’s will and for His glory.

 V 6–10: GOSPEL Paul is concerned about those who pervert the gospel of grace and turn others from it. Twice he states that anyone who perverts the gospel of Christ should be cursed. His concern is to please God and so fulfil his role as Christ’s servant.

V 11–24: GOD In authenticating his apostleship, Paul makes it quite clear that his call as an apostle has come from God. He refers back to God’s work of grace in his life, marked by an immediate desire to preach the gospel to Gentiles. God revealed to him the same gospel that he revealed collectively to the apostles, as he found out three years later when he went to Jerusalem to see Peter and James, the Lord’s brother. God underlines his status as an apostle by the blessing that He gave to Paul’s ministry among the churches. No wonder God has been glorified in Paul.

Dictionary of Bible Themes

2425 gospel, requirements of

The gospel demands an obedient response to all that God has done for humanity in Jesus Christ. This includes faith in God, trust in the work of Jesus Christ, the repenting of sin, being baptised, and becoming like Christ through discipleship.

The requirement of faith

Belief in God Heb 11:6 See also Jn 10:38; Jn 11:25-27; Jn 14:8-11

Trust in Jesus Christ Jn 3:14-16 See also Jn 1:12-13; Jn 3:36; Jn 7:37-39; Jn 20:31; Ac 13:38-39; Ac 16:31; Ro 3:22

The requirement of repentance

A conscious change of mind and heart Ac 3:17-20 See also Ps 51:17; Jer 3:12-13; Jer 6:16; Lk 18:13-14; Ac 17:30

Turning away from sin Ac 8:22 See also 2Ch 7:14; Ps 34:14; Isa 59:20; Jer 25:4-6

Turning towards God Ac 20:21 See also Dt 4:29-31; Dt 30:8-10; Isa 44:21-22; Isa 55:6-7; Hos 14:1-2; Jas 4:8-10

The requirement of baptism

Ac 2:38 See also Mt 28:18-20; Ac 8:12,36-38; Ac 10:47-48; Ac 19:1-5; Ac 22:16

The requirement of public confession of Jesus Christ

Ro 10:9-10 See also Mt 10:32 pp Lk 12:8-9

The requirement of discipleship

Willingness to learn from Jesus Christ Mt 11:28-30 See also Jn 13:14-15; Php 2:5; 1Pe 2:21

Willingness to obey Jesus Christ Jn 14:15 See also Jn 14:21,23; Jn 15:10; 1Jn 2:3-6; 1Jn 3:21-24; 1Jn 5:3; 2Jn 6

Willingness to suffer for the sake of Jesus Christ Mt 16:24 pp Mk 8:34 pp Lk 9:23 See also Ac 14:21-22; Php 1:29; 2Ti 3:10-12; Jas 1:2; 1Pe 3:14; 1Pe 4:12-19

Part 2 Words for The Wise, Living in Purpose, Galatians 2 NIV

Does God's Call on Your Life Overwhelm You?

Does God's Call on Your Life Overwhelm You?

Have you ever felt like God has called you to do something for Him? It could be something like witness to someone or even step into a certain career path. As soon as you felt the Lord speak to you, excitement filled your heart and mind. Shortly after the burst of excitement you started doubting yourself and soon you allowed insecurities, shame and past failures to talk you out of what God laid on your heart.

I'm reminded of the story of Moses in the Bible. We find Moses tending to another man's sheep in Exodus 3. He was on the back side of the desert when the Lord spoke to him through a burning bush. The Lord found Moses to be faithful, watching and leading another man's sheep, and now wanted to promote him to lead His flock to the Promise Land and out of bondage.

We find Moses in Exodus 3 having a conversation with the Lord that many of us have had in the past. The Lord plainly explains to Moses what is on His heart and what He is calling him to do. Exodus 3:7-8 says, "The Lord said, 'I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. Therefore, I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey.'"

Remember, God doesn't call the qualified; He qualifies the called! You are just whom the Lord is looking for to do His next grand adventure! Many lives can and will be changed for the kingdom of God with a simple yes in your spirit. Remember, you may feel unworthy but you're called! Now go make a difference in the world for Jesus!

Record numbers use Scottish food banks by By Marc Ellison Data journalist, BBC Scotland

 Trussell Trust food banks were visited by 10,489 people in December 2014

 - a third of them were children

A record number of adults and children relied upon food banks in Scotland in December, according to new figures obtained by the BBC.

Nearly 10,500 people visited the Trussell Trust's 48 food banks for the first time in the charity's history.

The data also reveals a third of users cited low income - and not welfare benefit delays - for their predicament.

The figure is a 13% increase from the 9,263 people who used a Trussell Trust food bank in December 2013.

BBC Scotland wants your help in compiling a definitive list of all the food banks in Scotland. Please take just one minute to fill out this short form with details of your local food bank(s).

In December 2014, 10,489 people visiting Scottish food banks were given a three day supply of nutritionally balanced food by the charity - a third of them children.

The charity underlined that the final figure for December visits is likely to be even higher as food bank staff continue to input data into their system.

'Harrowing accounts'

Ewan Gurr, the charity's network manager for Scotland, said he was concerned that many low income families were forced to face hunger in the run-up to Christmas due to financial difficulties.

Read more here:

Bishops were wrong about poverty last time... this time they're irrelevant, by Damien Thompson, Daily Mail

Justin Welby

The quickest way to ruin a dinner party is to talk about the Christian belief in an after-life. ‘Heaven? It’s just a fantasy cooked up by clergy to keep themselves in a job,’ a typical metropolitan hostess might say, her lip curling as she spoons out the asparagus soufflé.

To which I can only reply: in 20 years of covering religious affairs as a journalist, I have almost never heard vicars or priests talk about heaven – except from the narrow confines of the pulpit, and even then not very often.

But I certainly hear clergy talk incessantly about another fantasy world. It’s a Britain in which they talk about the ‘gulf between rich and poor’.

This always seems to be a nicely flexible concept that they never precisely define. Above all, it is always ‘widening’ and they argue that society’s ills can be miraculously solved if only more taxpayers’ money was spent on them as if it was holy water.

This week, they are it again with a book that deliberately echoes the infamous ‘Faith In The City’ report published by the Church of England in 1985 when Margaret Thatcher was prime minister.

It controversially called for greater government spending in every conceivable area (except on the country’s military defences, of course) and was denounced by one Thatcherite minister as ‘Marxist’.

Such criticism was, I believe, over the top – but make no mistake: the truth is that the Church of England tried to strangle the Thatcherite reforms that turned Britain into the economic capital of Europe.

The Church failed in it efforts – and it seems that Archbishop Sentamu is still very bitter.

In his new book, he says he is sorry that the Church lost its nerve in its response to what he calls the ‘savage attack’ of Thatcherism.

But he is wrong. The Left-wing bishops did not lose their nerve: they actually did everything in their power to elect Labour’s Neil Kinnock as prime minister. And then when that failed, too, they went into a sulk.

Perhaps the most depressing aspect of this offensive by the Church of England is the involvement of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The fact is that some of what he says is patently not true.

Read more here:

Further Reading

Bishops branded 'out of touch' for claiming the poor are being cast aside and cities are in a 'cycle of decline'

Supersize benefits family claims £50,000 in handouts every year and spend cash on designer trainers and mopeds 

Now Scotland wants tax breaks to bail out struggling oil industry... just four months after Salmond said North Sea would bankroll his independence dream, Daily Mail

Now Scotland wants tax breaks to bail out struggling oil industry... just four months after Salmond said North Sea would bankroll his independence dream

·         Price of a barrel of Brent crude has more than halved since June to $48

·         Dramatic fall undermines SNP claim that oil would make Scotland rich

·         Now Scottish ministers are demanding UK government steps in

·         Chancellor George Osborne under pressure ahead of Budget in March

·         Oil expert Sir Ian Wood says taxes should be cut by up to 10%

·         Tories condemn SNP 'deceit' that the price of oil would rise and rise

The Scottish government is demanding tax cuts to bailout the oil industry, just four months after claiming that booming North Sea reserves would bankroll independence.

The move has been ridiculed by supporters of the Union, who point out that if voters had backed independence in September the country would not be in crisis.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude – the global benchmark – has more than halved since June to around $48 (£31.50). Experts predict it could fall as low as $31 (£20.44) by April.

The weak oil price seriously undermines the claim by the SNP's Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon nationalists that an independent Scotland could rely on its natural resources.

Scotland's Energy Minister last night issued a demand for new tax breaks to shore up the industry, after BP announced it was cutting 200 onshore workers and 100 contractor roles from its 3,500 staff in the North Sea.

Mr Ewing said: 'It is clear to me that the UK Government has accepted it must act on tax. My question is why wait in respect of the supplementary charge until March

'This is the most serious jobs situation Scotland has faced in living memory.'

But rival parties have this week condemned the SNP for demanding help from Westminster just months after wanting to sever ties with the rest of the UK. 

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said: 'The SNP told the people of Scotland the price of oil would rise and rise - that was a deceit.

'No end of experts pointed out the many flaws in this fanciful policy, but they were dismissed by the Scottish Government as scaremongering.

'In the last few weeks we've seen just how volatile the price of oil really is.'  

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