Tuesday, January 17, 2017, 10:00 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “My Sheep.” Speak, Lord, your words to
my heart. I read Galatians 5:1-15
(NASB).
Keep Standing Firm (v. 1)
It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore
keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
What were we, as believers in
Jesus Christ, set free from? Well, first of all Jesus died that we might die to
sin and live to righteousness, so we were set free from slavery to sin. We were
also delivered from the punishment of sin, which is spiritual death and
eternity in the fires of hell. As well, we were delivered from reliance on
self, which includes man-made religion and trying to earn our way to heaven by
good works. When we believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives,
we are crucified with Christ in death to sin so that we might live with Christ
to his righteousness. The old has gone. The new has come. Jesus doesn’t just
clean up our old lives a little. He transforms us away from living for self and
sin to walking in his holiness.
So, that brings me to this
question: What were we set free to? A lot of people focus solely on what we
were saved from, and based on that, they promise us eternal life with God when we
die, but is that all there is to it? NO! Jesus didn’t die just so we could be
forgiven of our sin, escape hell, and go to heaven when we die. We were set
free to be slaves (servants) of Christ’s righteousness. We were saved to
obedience to Christ and to walking in his ways and in his truth. We were set
free to live godly and holy lives, pleasing to God, no longer conformed to the
ways of this sinful world. We were set free to come under the control and rule
of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and to be who God planned we should be even
before the creation of the world. As well, we were set free to live in God and
him in us and to live in love. And, we were set free to rest (trust) in Jesus
and not in ourselves.
So, this is to encourage us
strongly that we must not return to who we were before we put our hope and
faith in Jesus Christ. We must not go back to living for sin and self. We must
not return to self-reliance or to man-made religion. We must not go back to
living by human standards and values, in order to be accepted and approved by
humans, either. We died to sin! How can we live in it any longer? Know this,
that if we say we have fellowship with God, but we walk (in lifestyle) in
darkness (sin), we are liars, and we don’t have the promise of eternal life (1
Jn. 1:6; Lu. 9:23-25; Ro. 8:1-14).
Fallen from Grace (vv. 2-6)
Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive
circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every
man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole
Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by
law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting
for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.
What did circumcision represent
to the people who lived under the law? It was the outward physical sign of the old
covenant between God and Abraham and his physical descendants. Yet, when Jesus
came, and he died for our sins, and he was resurrected from the dead, then we
were brought under a new covenant with God, by faith in Jesus Christ. So,
circumcision is no longer required. Now we are sealed with the Holy Spirit who
is our deposit guaranteeing the inheritance of those who believe in Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives. And, the outward signs that we are in
covenant relationship with God are spiritual in nature, not physical.
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,
if you love one another" (Jn. 13:35). Jesus said, “If you hold to my
teaching, you are really my disciples”
(Jn. 8:31). “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit,
and so prove to be My
disciples” (Jn. 15:8). “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;
against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ
Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires,” (Gal.
5:22-24) etc.
So, if we are trying to earn
favor with God through following a set of man-made rules and regulations, or
through religious ritual and tradition, it will gain us nothing. Christ will be
of no benefit to us. And, I am not making these remarks to legalists, only. Today’s
modern institutional church is largely based on man-made religion. Even the
pastors are being trained in human-based methods for how to grow their “churches,”
i.e. their businesses. “Worship” services are often nothing more than
Christianized entertainment for the world, and for the worldly professor of
faith in Christ. And, “Bible” studies are frequently studies of books written
by modern authors who are also following human-based teaching, values and
philosophies. And, thus, the gospel is diluted to appeal to the flesh of humans
so as not to be an offense.
So, if this is the religion
you are following, Christ and his cross is of no benefit to you, either, for
your faith is based in human teachings, philosophies and values, instead of in
the truth of God’s word.
What is important to God is faith
working through love, but not love as humans define it, but as God defines it,
which has God as its center, and which values what God values, and prefers what
God prefers. God is the moral center of this kind of love which gives of itself
freely to meet the legitimate needs (not wants) of others, i.e. it considers
what is in their best interest, i.e. what is God’s good for them, and it does
not cater to the flesh or to the will of man (humans). Jesus is our prime example
of how to love others with this kind of love, which includes speaking the truth
in love. So much of what is called love in the worldly church is not God-like
love, but is self-love (selfish) and considers self above all others. But
God-like love is patient, kind, not proud, not self-seeking, does not keep an
accounting of tit-for-tat, and does not act improperly or indecently, etc. (1
Co. 13:4-7).
Who Hindered You? (vv. 7-12)
You were running well; who hindered you from obeying
the truth? This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven
leavens the whole lump of dough. I have confidence in you in the Lord that you
will adopt no other view; but the one who is disturbing you will bear his
judgment, whoever he is. But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why
am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been
abolished. I wish that those who are troubling you would even mutilate
themselves.
So, the question is, “Who is
hindering you from obeying the truth?” In other words, who is leading you to
follow man-made religion, whether via legalism or libertinism? It could be your
pastor, or your church denomination, or it could be a close friend or relative,
or a fellow professing Christian. It could also be a TV preacher or evangelist,
or a particular website or a blog on the net that you follow. Or, it could be
your government, i.e. your political leaders, especially if they claim to be
Christians, and if they are preaching ecumenicalism, i.e. “promoting or tending
toward worldwide Christian unity or cooperation” (M-W); mixed; interreligious.
Yet, this is not speaking of
unity of mind or spirit with Christ, but with man. And, it is working its way
toward unity of all people regardless of religion or chosen lifestyle. What multiple
world leaders are pushing, whether religious or political in nature, is
solidarity of all people, the breaking down of all which divides us as the
people of the world, and compromise of faith in order to be one with the people
of the world. They want the world to hold hands with each other and sing “Kumbaya.”
And, Trump is one of them, too.
The cross of Christ is
abolished whenever man takes over in place of the Spirit of God and humans
decide what we should think, believe and how we should act. So, if you don’t
know if you are actually following Christ or human-based religion, then I would
encourage you to examine whatever you are being taught in prayer, by the
Spirit, and in the Word of God, reading scriptures in context, and comparing
scripture with scripture. A lot of what is being taught in today’s church here
in America is man-made, and is false, and is misleading, and is leading many
people to hell, not to heaven.
Called to Freedom (vv. 13-15)
For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not
turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one
another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You
shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another,
take care that you are not consumed by one another.
So, in conclusion, we were
called to freedom – freedom from sin and self, freedom from human-based
religion, and freedom from reliance on self and on human reasoning and logic. We
were set free from slavery to sin, so that we could now become servants of
Christ’s righteousness, and walk in the Spirit, and no longer according to our
flesh. And, we were set free to now put our trust in God and to walk in his ways
and in his truth, instead of relying on ourselves or on the teachings of mere
humans. God’s grace is not a free license to continue in sin without guilt and
without remorse. His grace teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly
passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait
for Christ’s return (Tit. 2:11-14). Love does no harm to its neighbor, so walk
in love.
My Sheep /
An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Based off John 10:1-18 NIV
My sheep hear me. They know
me.
They listen to my voice and
obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they
follow me.
They will never follow
strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they
know not;
They do not follow him.
So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter
in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and
will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.
Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down
for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me
eternally.
The thief only comes to steal
and
Kill and to destroy the
church.
I have come to give you life
that
You may have it to the full…
They know my voice, so they
follow me.
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