Galatians 2:4-6 ESV
“Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me.”
The Judaizers
The context is that of the Judaizers trying to convince
Christians that they had to be circumcised and that they had to obey some of
the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial and purification laws in
order to be saved. Yet, the broader context is that of distorters of truth
trying to convince Christians or prospective Christians to follow after a false
man-made gospel in order to bring them back under slavery or to keep them in slavery
to sin.
Now, the first is definitely still with us, and it has been
gaining ground for some time now via the Hebrew roots movements or from the
Messianic Jewish movements, etc. Many Christian “churches” have engaged in
having Christian Jews speak at their gatherings, and many professers of faith
in Jesus have been convinced that they need to become more Jewish and to engage
in some of the Jewish customs and ceremonies, and perhaps to even follow some
of the Old Covenant liturgical and ceremonial laws.
[I am no expert on this subject, so I can’t speak on it with
any solid knowledge with facts. I just know that many professing Christians are
being convinced that being more Jewish will add to their faith in Jesus Christ.]
The Broader Context
Although modern-day Judaizers are an issue, for certain, and
they appear to be gaining ground, still the greater issue is not in legalism
but in liberalism. The “false brothers” who are permeating the church of today,
at least here in America, are those who are teaching a very liberal gospel
message which does not put sin to death in the sinner, but which allows sin to
live and to thrive and to continue unhindered. For they say all is forgiven, so
sin no longer matters to God. They teach or they give the impression that those
of faith can continue in habitual and deliberate sin now without punishment.
Some of them may talk about repentance, but if they do, it
is mostly in the context of a one-time thing or of just admitting sin, but not
usually in the context of actually turning away from a life of sin and doing a
spiritual U-turn the other direction to now following Jesus Christ in obedience
to his ways and to his commands, which is what the Scriptures teach repentance
is. But many don’t even use the word “repent” anymore, or they do, but in a
negative context when they dissuade people from repenting of sin.
Going along with this dissuading of people from repenting of
sin is also that they discourage them or they teach against them obeying the
Lord and his commands (New Covenant). If we repent of sin and obey our Lord and
if we teach others that they must repent and obey the Lord, we are accused falsely
of teaching “works-based salvation.” But that is a lie from hell. For Jesus,
and Paul, and Peter, and John, and James taught repentance and obedience as
necessary components of believing faith in Jesus Christ.
So, if you have pastors and people in your church gatherings
who are teaching you that you don’t have to submit to Christ as Lord
(Owner-Master) and that you don’t have to repent of (turn away from) your sins,
and that you don’t have to obey the Lord and his commands (New Covenant), then
they are false brothers who have secretly slipped in among you to spy on your
freedom in Christ Jesus and to bring you back into slavery or to leave you in
slavery (bondage, addiction) to sin while promising you heaven.
What they are teaching is not the truth of the gospel. The
true gospel teaches that Jesus Christ died on that cross that we might die with
him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He died that we might no
longer live for ourselves but for him who died and was raised. He shed his
blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) so we would
now honor God with our bodies (1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15; 1 Co 6:19-20).
When we believe in Jesus with God-given faith (not of
ourselves), we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and we are raised with
Christ to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness. Our old self was crucified with Christ in order
that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be
enslaved to sin, but so we would now be slaves of God and of his righteousness
(Rom 6).
Now we must no longer walk (in conduct, in practice)
according to the flesh, but now according to the Spirit. Sin should no longer
have mastery or control over our lives. Now we should be living under Holy
Spirit control. Now we must no longer live as slaves to sin in deliberate and
habitual sin, but now we must be surrendering our lives to Jesus, denying self,
dying to sin daily (daily putting sin to death) and walking in obedience to our
Lord.
If we don’t, and we go our own way instead, and we have this
idea that we can be Christians, and that we can be saved from our sins, and
that heaven is our eternal destiny, and that we are in relationship with God,
but we deny him as Lord of our lives, and we still deliberately and habitually make
sin our practice, and we feel no obligation to obey him or his commands, then
Scripture teaches that we are liars, that we don’t know him, and that we don’t
have the hope of eternal life with him, but we will die in our sins, and unless
we truly repent, hell will be our eternal destiny, not heaven.
For God’s grace, which brings salvation, instructs us to say
“NO!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright,
and godly lives in the power and wisdom of God while we wait for our Lord’s
soon return. For, Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all
lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are
zealous for good works (see Titus 2:11-14; cf. Eph 4:17-24).
[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn
15:1-11; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Jas 1:21-25;
Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; Gal
5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal
6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Heb
10:26-27; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Matt 7:21-23; Rev 18:1-6; Rev
21:8, 27; Rev 22:14-15]
Glorious
Grace
An Original Work / August 8, 2012
Based
off Ephesians 1:3-10 NIV
Praise be to God, the Father of Jesus,
Who has blessed us in heavenly realms.
For He chose us in Him from beginning
To be His holy children of God;
All in accord with His will and pleasure;
To the praise of His glorious grace.
In Jesus Christ we receive forgiveness.
We have redemption through His shed blood.
Glorious grace God freely has given us
In the One He loves and adores;
All in accord with the riches of His grace
Which He pours out on those He loves.
With all His wisdom and understanding,
God has made known His will unto us,
According to His will and good pleasure,
Purposed in Christ till all be fulfilled;
To bring all things on earth and in heaven
Under our Lord Christ; be unified.
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