Evangelist Daniel Kolenda, successor to Reinhard Bonnke and president of Christ for All Nations, has released a groundbreaking new book, “Furious,” designed to make the depth and urgency of Paul’s letter to the Galatians accessible to modern readers. While Galatians is a complex, layered epistle, Kolenda’s approach blends fiction with theological insight, giving readers both the story and the substance of the gospel.
In a podcast interview with Eric Gilmour, Kolenda explained how he wanted to create a devotional commentary for his church, but he quickly realized that the letter is far more dynamic than conventional commentaries often convey. “Galatians is such a dynamic, exciting book,” Kolenda says. “It’s like a theological lasagna—there’s an emotional layer, a logical layer and a spiritual layer. When you see it, it’s revelatory and life-changing.”
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To order Daniel Kolenda’s new book, Furious, visit Amazon.com.
To capture this complexity, Kolenda chose a novelistic approach. He imagined Paul dictating the letter to a young Jewish scribe who had recently come to faith in Christ. This scribe asks questions and engages with Paul’s words, allowing Kolenda to explore not just what Paul wrote, but why he wrote it. “By the end, you understand not just the letter but Paul as a person, where he’s coming from, and why he said what he said,” Kolenda explains.
Kolenda dives into some of Galatians’ most striking passages, including the well-known warning: “O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?” He explains that the Greek term used refers to the “evil eye,” a superstition that suggested malevolent forces could harm individuals. Paul’s words were a corrective, emphasizing that the Galatians’ eyes had been blinded by legalistic teachings and distortions of the gospel.
Legalism and added human effort is central to the concerns written in Galatians. He draws parallels to modern Christianity, where some believers are tempted to supplement Christ’s work with additional rules or rituals, such as extreme interpretations of Hebrew theology. “Every addition to Christ is a subtraction,” Kolenda asserts. “It cuts you off from grace and the flow of the Spirit in your life.” He emphasizes that true Christian freedom comes not from striving or human effort but from resting in the completed work of Christ.
Kolenda also discusses the power of the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience and more, and how this flow of the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit exists naturally when believers remain connected to Christ. Effort, rules and striving cannot produce this fruit; it emerges as a result of surrendering to God’s Spirit and embracing the liberty of the gospel.
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By combining fiction, theological insight and devotional guidance, Daniel Kolenda offers a fresh, engaging way to understand Galatians so we too can walk in freedom with Christ instead of in human-made legalistic rules.
Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.
