Galatians 4:8-9 ESV
“Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?”
This passage of Scripture has a dual context. The more specific context is that of dealing with the situation at hand which was that the Judaizers were convincing the Christians that they had to obey (or still obey) some of the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, and dietary laws and restrictions, some of which included circumcision. And so some (or many) of them were returning to living, at least partially, under the Old Covenant, or they were trying to blend the Old Covenant and the New Covenant together.
But there is a broader context here of following after man-made religion and of returning to being enslaved again to sin and to what is worldly and ungodly (see all of Galatians). And that is what I will be addressing in this writing, for that is the situation most of the church here in America is dealing with today. And this broader context also includes the situation of preachers today who are convincing Christians to be more worldly and less godly so as to not offend the people of the world.
So, before any of us knew the Lord intimately via God-given faith in Jesus Christ, we were all enslaved to sin, and many of us were following after human beings blindly, believing whatever they told us, and doing whatever they said we should do. Some of those people who we were following blindly, perhaps even after we believed in Jesus, are heads of governments, and pastors of church congregations, and the news media. And it is because that is what we were taught to do from childhood on up, even within the church.
So, the message for us today is, in part, to be reminded that Jesus died to deliver us from our slavery to sin, so we are no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. We are now to serve the Lord Jesus with our lives in walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands, and we are to be living holy and upright lives in the power of God, for the glory of God. For Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live to his righteousness (see 1 Peter 2:24; Romans 6:1-23; Ephesians 4:17-24).
But the other message for us here is that we are not to be followers of human beings and of man-made religion. For that is where many people are today in America who profess faith in Jesus Christ. They are blindly following after pastors, Christian book authors, and Christian musicians, and they are accepting their teachings as truth, when it is often not truth, but a mixture of truth and lies blended together in order to deceive. And many are being deceived, but they won’t even consider that they are being deceived, and so many of them are strongly holding on to the lies and are rejecting the truth.
Galatians 4:16-19 ESV
“Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!”
So, if you are a true servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, and if you are sharing the truth of the gospel of Christ (the whole counsel of God), and not these half-truth gospels of men, and if you are one who is exposing the fruitless deeds of darkness, and who is calling out the lies, and who is speaking the truth of God’s word in opposition to the lies, like Paul did, you are most likely going to be treated just like Paul was. And your fellow Christians (or professing Christians) may treat you like you are the enemy.
For that is the reality of the “Christian” culture we live in today here in America. For it appears that the majority of those making a profession of faith in Jesus Christ are following after humans and after man-made religion, and after man-created gospels which do not align with the truth of the Scriptures, in context. But as a faithful servant of the Lord, if you try to point out the lies and the deceptions, most will not listen, and most will either disregard you or they will fight against you or they will just dismiss you from their lives as though you are the enemy.
And a lot of that stems from the fact that they are so deceived that some of them truly believe that the lies are the truth and that the truth is the lie, not all of it, but in the key areas where it really matters. For many are being taught that they can make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, have all their sins forgiven, and now be guaranteed heaven when they die regardless of how they live. But Jesus and the New Testament apostles did not teach that. They taught that we must die daily with Christ to sin and walk in obedience to his commands in walks of righteousness and holiness or we will not inherit eternal life with God regardless of what we profess with our lips.
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
But if you try to tell them that, most will reject it, for they have been convinced that the truth is a lie and that the lie is the truth, and they have been trained to reject the truth as a lie and to reject anyone who is telling them the truth of the gospel, too. And this isn’t all just about the gospel message, but it is about all the teachings of the Scriptures which are to be applied to our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. So much of this is being twisted and altered to be more attractive to the world and to be more acceptable to human flesh, and so if you try to show them the truth and to expose the lies, they (not all) will treat you just like you are the enemy.
But don’t let that dishearten and discourage you. Make sure that what you are sharing is the truth of God’s word, according to the context in which it is written, and then in the power of God’s Spirit keep speaking the truth in love, for God’s word (the Scriptures) will not return empty, and the messages the Lord gives us to share, if they are of him, will be used of him for his purposes and for his glory to plant the seed of truth in other people’s hearts and lives, even if they refuse it now.
Hated and Persecuted: [Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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