Evangelist and pastor Daniel Kolenda says the book of Galatians is packed with layer upon layer of truth that can transform lives right now. “It’s like drinking out of a fire hose of revelation,” he said, describing how the letter’s meaning unfolds when you slow down and read it closely. “If you get the multiple layers of meaning that are packed into every verse, you come away with almost information overload.”
Kolenda shared these insights in a recent Charisma Media interview, where he discussed his new book Furious, his sermon series on Galatians and why he believes the gospel must remain central in the life of every believer.
Why Galatians Gripped Him
Kolenda started preaching verse by verse through Galatians at Nations Church in Orlando, Florida because the text “was so capturing me.” He called Paul’s letter “unfiltered,” “controversial,” and “stimulating,” adding that to reduce it to a dry commentary felt wrong. “It is I think it’s Paul’s most raw letter,” he said. “To write a commentary about it just felt like I wasn’t doing it justice.”
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The series’ impact surprised him. “I never had such a response to any kind of a sermon series as I had to the book of Galatians,” he said. “People were coming up to me every week saying like, ‘This is mind-boggling. This is transformational.’”
From Pulpit Series to Page-Turner
That response pushed Kolenda to craft Furious, a novelized journey through Galatians. He imagined being in the room as Paul dictated the letter to a scribe. “Imagine that we could sit in the room and listen to that conversation and hear a dialogue between the scribe and between Paul,” he said. Storytelling, he believes, helps readers absorb doctrine at a heart level. “By the end, they have effortlessly absorbed not only the book of Galatians, but the heart of the Apostle Paul himself and of the gospel.”
The Gospel Is Not an Add-On
For Kolenda, the gospel is central to everything he does. “Our primary ministry focus is Africa where we do massive gospel crusades,” he said. “We’ve seen over a 100 million documented salvations.” That urgency shows up in his preaching and pastoring. “Somewhere in there, I’m going to make sure that the gospel comes into play,” he said.
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Paul’s Rebuke and the “Evil Eye”
Kolenda highlights the drama behind Paul’s famous line, “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?” He explained that “bewitched” points to a real superstition in Paul’s world. “The Greek word there is the word that is used in Greek for a superstition that was very common in the Greco Roman world at that time called the superstition of the evil eye,” he said. He noted hints that Paul suffered eye trouble and may have flipped an accusation of cursing back on legalists. “What Paul is saying to the Galatians now is he’s taking that accusation and he’s turning it back on them.”
The Deadly Drift of Legalism
Legalism, Kolenda warned, blinds believers to the cross. “What it does is it robs the cross of its glory and its power,” he said. “If you are trying to be made right with God through the law, you have been cut off from Christ.” He sees the same drift today in subtle and overt forms. “There is a movement of people that are trying to persuade even gentile believers that if they really want to please God, what they have to do is return to the law of Moses,” he said. “People they fall for this.”
The problem, he stressed, is not learning about Jewish roots or attending a seder. “It becomes a way to get to God outside of the cross,” he said. “And there is no other way.”
Grace Is Not License
Rejecting legalism does not mean anything goes. “The gospel doesn’t say, ‘Okay, Jesus saved you. Now live however you want,’” Kolenda said. The change is internal and profound. “When you put your faith in Christ, something amazing happens in your life,” he said. “The Holy Spirit comes to live on the inside of you.” Citing Galatians, he added, “If you are led by the spirit, you’re not under the law.”
Fruit That Grows Without Strain
Real holiness flows from union with Christ. “A vine doesn’t produce fruit by squeezing and by just grunting and trying to push fruit out,” Kolenda said. “The branch connected to the vine and the fruit effortlessly as a result of the exchange of life.” That, he said, is the Christian life. “We are now connected to God by the Holy Spirit and there is a source of life now that flows into us.”
God Sets the Table
Kolenda offered a simple invitation to those who feel stuck in spiritual striving. “Christianity is the only religion where God spreads a table in front of his people,” he said. “God provides the solution for us. And this is the gospel.” Trusting the finished work of Jesus changes everything from the inside out. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation,” he said. “If you will look at the world through the eyes of Jesus, everything will become new.”
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What Furious Aims To Do
Kolenda hopes readers fall in love with grace and stay centered on the cross. “What I pray it does for readers is that they read a novel,” he said. “It’s an entertaining interesting story. And by the end, they have effortlessly absorbed not only the book of Galatians, but the heart of the Apostle Paul himself and of the gospel.”
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a background in journalism from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine.
