The Law vs. The Gospel | Paul, Galatians, & Christ with Cody Cook

What if the gospel is not just about being declared right, but about being rescued from a world that keeps trying to enslave us? Cody Cook returns to the show for a conversation about Galatians, law, union with Christ, the present evil age, and the spiritual powers Jesus came to defeat. What begins as a discussion of Cody’s book Delivered from the Evil Age of the Present becomes something deeper: a reflection on how we read Paul, what Galatians 4 is really saying, and why the gospel is bigger than being declared right. This episode traces the movement from law, slavery, and the “elementary principles of the world” toward rescue, adoption, new creation, and the kind of allegiance that belongs to Christ alone. They Explore: Galatians and the question of law or Christ old, new, and apocalyptic readings of Paul union with Christ, adoption, and being made new the “present evil age” and rescue through Jesus stoicheia and the “elementary principles of the world” spiritual powers, slavery, and the scope of salvation ordo amoris, J.D. Vance, and nation-first love why Christian nationalism distorts our loves 📖 For Full Show Notes: thebadroman.com/show-notes/episode-159 🤝Connect with Cody Cook🤝 Book: Delivered from the Evil Age of the Present: How Jesus Brought About a New Creation by Subverting the Powers Behind Nationalism and Ethnic Identitarianism Explore Cody’s Books: The Anarchist Anabaptist, The Pocket Anabaptist, Fight the Powers, What Belongs to Caesar? Podcast and writing: Cantus Firmus Libertarian Christian Institute author page X: @CantusFirmusCC Podcast: Cantus Firmus Website: cantus-firmus.com Bad Roman Episodes with Cody Cook: EP 89 God's Country or Jesus’s Kingdom? Navigating the Nexus of Nationalism and Faith in America EP 99 Navigating Revivals in Christianity with Cody Cook EP 128 The Anabaptist Way: Rediscovering Radical Christianity with Cody Cook   Listen & Reflect Listen: For the way Cody widens the frame of Galatians, not into a narrow debate about law and grace alone, but into a deeper conversation about rescue, slavery, the powers, and new creation. Reflect: Where have we reduced the gospel to being declared right while resisting the deeper change Christ brings? Where have nationalism, tribe, or political identity competed with our belonging to Jesus? Read: Galatians 1:3–4, Galatians 4:1–11, Luke 10:25–37, and Philippians 3:20. Pay attention to what Scripture says about rescue, adoption, spiritual slavery, neighbor-love, and the citizenship that belongs to heaven. Practice: This week, take one identity you hold tightly—political, national, tribal, or religious—and ask whether it has been shaped more by the present age than by the Kingdom of Christ. Key Moments: (0:00) Can law make us right, or only Christ? (1:26) Why Cody wrote this book (4:13) Different ways people read Paul (9:27) Courtroom, table, and battle (15:08)“We wanna be declared right” (20:23)Why Galatians 4 matters (34:13) Ordo amoris, J.D. Vance, and nation-first love (57:48)Athanasius, incarnation, and the defeat of evil (1:01:23) Christians, weapons, and the words of Jesus (1:06:16) Where to learn more   Consider Supporting the Show 💕 Want more episodes that keep our loyalty with Jesus, not power? 💕 Support the show at thebadroman.com/donate. Every gift helps, and everything beyond production costs goes to local charities in Memphis, Tennessee. 🌶️ SALSA THE LOVE 🌶️ Want to support the project in a tastier way? Grab Bad Roman Salsa at badromansalsa.com. Ev