The God-fearing Gentile believers in Jesus had been saved
by faith and were thereby included in the Body of Christ but they didn’t belong fully to either the Roman culture or the Jewish. They were pressured by both communities to conform or be persecuted. The middle ground is a hard place to be. Believers ought to expect to suffer as an inevitable part of their
calling. To believe is not to evade suffering; it is to face it with new
confidence and hope. Rightly approached, suffering develops the character of
believers, equips them for more effective service, draws believers closer to
Jesus Christ and prepares them for eternal life.
Main Passage: Galatians 3:1-14