Wednesday, June 8,
2016, 4:00 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “Believe Him.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Galatians 1:1-10 (ESV).
Not from Men (vv.
1-2a)
Paul,
an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the
Father, who raised him from the dead— and all the brothers who are with me…
Not many professing ministers of the gospel today in America
could say this, it would appear. So many, many of them are following their
human trainers and books (or courses) on how to grow their churches, i.e. their
businesses, over or in place of Jesus Christ. They are relying on the wisdom
and counsel of humankind over the Word of God, and over the leading and witness
of the Holy Spirit. Entertainment has become the focus of what is commonly
referred to as a “worship service.” And, the gospel of Jesus Christ has been
diluted to make it more palatable and acceptable to the world. It appears that
those who stand on the Word of God and who get their wisdom and messages from
the Lord, rather than from humans, are becoming more and more rare.
Yet, all of us who are believers in Jesus Christ are indwelt
with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to us by the Lord Jesus to
guide, lead, counsel, teach, instruct, convict, encourage, strengthen and
empower us in the faith and in our witness for Jesus Christ. It is also the
Holy Spirit who gives us spiritual gifts to be used for the edification and
building up of the body of Christ. And, it is God who assigns each one of us
our roles (parts) within the body of Christ, which we are to fill for the encouragement
and strengthening of Christ’s body, his church. So, we are to get our
direction, teaching and assignments from God, and not from men. And, we are to
follow Jesus and his Spirit’s leading in doing and saying what God directs, and
in being who God wants us to be. Our primary teaching, as well, should come
straight from God’s word and not from books written by mere humans.
To Deliver Us
(vv. 2b-5)
To
the churches of Galatia:
Grace
to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave
himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the
will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
So many professing ministers of the gospel are also teaching
a gospel message absent of the cross of Christ in the life of the individual
believer. They are teaching their followers that they don’t have to repent (turn
from sin), and that they don’t have to obey Christ and his commandments, even
though the NT books teach that we must. Basically, what they are teaching
people is that faith in Jesus Christ gets them out of hell and into heaven when
they die, but they are not teaching them that Jesus died that they might die to
sin and live to righteousness. They are not teaching that he died that we might
no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us. And,
they are not teaching that the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in
us who walk (conduct our lives) not after the flesh, but who walk according to
the Spirit (See: 1 Pet. 2:24; 2 Co. 5:15; Ro. 8:1-14).
Yet, Paul makes it clear here that Jesus died on a cross for
our sins to deliver us from the present evil age. In other words, he came to
deliver us not only from the curse of sin, but also from the control and
influence of sin over our lives. He died so that we would no longer be
conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but so we would be transformed in
heart and mind away from living to sin and self to living for God and to
walking in his holiness and righteousness. Jesus said that if anyone would come
after him he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and
self) and follow (obey) him. He said if we hold on to our lives (of living for
sin and self), we will lose them for eternity, but if we lose our lives (die
with Christ to sin and self), we will gain eternal life (See: Lu. 9:23-25; cf.
Ro. 8:1-14). He said his sheep listen to his voice and they follow (obey) him
(See: Jn. 10:27-30).
A Different Gospel
(vv. 6-9)
I
am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace
of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one,
but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary
to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so
now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you
received, let him be accursed.
The manner in which the gospel was being distorted among the
Galatians was that there was a group of people who were trying to bring
Christians under or back under the rule of law of the Old Covenant. More
specifically, to the best of my understanding, they were trying to instruct
them that they had to be circumcised and practice Jewish religious rites and
follow some of their customs and/or participate in some of their religious
festivals. And, they were requiring that they do this in order to be saved, so
they were adding to the gospel of Jesus Christ what God did not require of
followers of Christ.
I believe we have the opposite problem these days. I believe
the way the gospel is being distorted today is in the removal of critical
components of our faith and salvation, as required by God/Jesus for our
salvation and eternal life, and to do so in order to appeal to human flesh and
to teach a broad road to heaven rather than the narrow road that Jesus taught.
Yes, it is by God’s grace that we are saved, through faith, and this not from
ourselves – not of human works lest any of us should boast (See: Eph. 2:8-9).
Yet, it is also true that Jesus taught repentance for forgiveness of sins and
eternal life with God. As well, it is true that he and his NT apostles taught
that if we continue living sinful lifestyles, and/or if we do not obey Jesus
Christ and his Word, we don’t know God, and we don’t have the promise of
eternal life with God – although they did not demand sinless perfection.
So, we need to make certain that the gospel message we are
hearing and receiving is the one Jesus and his NT apostles taught. This means
that we need to search the scriptures for ourselves and see what was taught,
instead of following the teachings of humans who often hand-select the
scriptures that fit with their philosophy while ignoring the bulk of teachings
which don’t agree with their lifestyles. And, this means that we need to read
all of them in context, and compare scripture with scripture so that we are not
guilty of taking scripture out of context and of making it say what we want it
to say in order to fit with our own chosen lifestyles. In other words, we need
to be seekers of truth, and be willing to obey what the Lord teaches us, and
not try to fit God and his Word into our own lifestyles.
Whose Approval?
(v. 10)
For
am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man?
If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
This is really the bottom line of it all. Are we living to
please ourselves and other humans, or are we living our lives to please Christ
in all that we do and say? Do we make decisions in our lives based on human
approval, or on God’s approval? Do we ignore the leading of the Holy Spirit out
of fear that we will be rejected, or are we willing to be persecuted for our
faith in order to follow our Lord Jesus in obedience to his will for our lives?
Do we live in fear of what humans may do to us, or are we walking in the fear
of the Lord? Do we allow our circumstances to dictate our actions, or do we
walk by faith, believing God in all things, even when our circumstances are
questionable or it looks like all is going to fail?
Jesus is asking us to trust him fully with our lives and
with our circumstances. He wants us to believe him, and what his word teaches
us. And, he is asking us to live our lives to please him, and not ourselves or
other humans, even if it means we are mistreated in return. He has a plan and a
purpose for our lives, and he will work out all things for our good. We just
need to submit to him and surrender our lives to him, and walk in his truth, in
his love, and in obedience to his instructions. A saved life is a crucified
life. It is a surrendered life to God.
Believe
Him / An Original Work / July 15, 2013
My heart cries: Lord, won’t You hear me
Seeking You for the answers
To my heartache and questions
I have concerning my life?
Speak, Lord, to me right now.
“Oh, dear one, why don’t you trust Me
With your life’s circumstances?
Give your all on the altar
In submission of your will
To My purpose for you.
“Surrender your life completely
To your Lord and your Savior.
He has all things planned for you
For His glory and honor.
He’ll work all things for good.
“Believe Him. He will fulfill all
Of His promises to you
For your life and your future.
Trust Him. Rest in His love.
He’ll give you peace from above.”
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