Galatians Finale

I finished my study in the book of Galatians today. I started on January 1st and finished today. Galatians has six chapters which had me spending about a month on each chapter. Typically I covered one to three verses per day spending about an hour each day in study. I have found that if I drastically cut the quantity of content I study each day I can learn a whole lot more. I used to read a chapter a day and try to take it all in. For me it's just not possible. There is so much packed into each and every verse that the chapter a day method was way too much content to actually learn and remember. If you struggle with remembering what you read five minutes ago I recommend concentrating on a couple of verses a day and really diving into them. Get a good Bible dictionary, commentary and some good Bible software and two verses a day will easily keep you busy for an hour. Here is a link to some good material: The Resurgence.

This study has been awesome. I have learned so much and it has been very timely information because of issues of legalism I am currently dealing with. I just want to take some time to recap and summarize the book of Galatians:

Galatians was written by the Apostle Paul around A.D. 48 to a group of churches that he planted years prior in the region of Galatia which is modern day Turkey. The major theme of Galatians is that "Christ's death has brought in the age of the new covenant (3:23–26; 4:4–5, 24), in which believers do not have to become Jews or follow the outward ceremonies of the Mosaic law (2:3, 11–12, 14; 4:10). To require these things is to deny the heart of the gospel, which is justification by faith alone, not by obedience to the law (2:16; cf. 1:6–7). In this new age, Christians are to live in the guidance and power of the Spirit (chs. 5–6)" (ESV).

"A crisis has hit the church in Galatia. The church came into being as a result of God's Spirit at work in Paul's proclamation of the gospel (3:1–5; 4:13–15). But within the short space of time since Paul left (1:6), the church has been visited or infiltrated by false teachers whom Paul calls those “who trouble you” (1:7) or “those who unsettle you” (5:12). These teachers have convinced the Galatians of a false gospel which requires them to be circumcised. Paul sees that these pseudo-Christians merely want to win converts for their own prestige: they want to win approval from the Jewish authorities by showing how effective they are in converting Gentiles to a form of Judaism (6:12). Since the Jewish establishment approves of the fact that they are making Gentiles Jewish, the false teachers have the best of both worlds: they have created a sect of which they are the leaders, and they also escape any Jewish persecution. One further effect of this on the Galatians appears to have been the division within their church, presumably over these issues of circumcision and law that the false teachers have raised (5:15)" (ESV).

The book of Galatians, like all Scripture is "breathed out by God, profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." This letter is the foremost epistle on spiritual liberty and Christian freedom. Martin Luther says of this letter: "The epistle to the Galatians is my epistle. To it I am, as it were, in wedlock. Galatians is my Katherine [the name of his wife]." Merrill C. Tenny wrote of Galatians: "Christianity might have been just one more Jewish sect, and the thought of the Western world might have been entirely pagan had it never been written. Galatians embodies the germinal teaching on Christian freedom which separated Christianity from Judaism, and which launched it upon a career of missionary conquest. It was the cornerstone of the protestant Reformation, because its teaching of salvation by grace alone became the dominant theme of the preaching of the Reformers."

Needless to say the book of Galatians should be read and re-read, like all other Scripture, by all Christians. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time spent with this letter and will undoubtedly come back again and again.

Thoughts on Galatians 6:2-5

"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load."

In Galatians 6:1 Paul tells us to restore anyone caught in sin. He told us to offer them a hand, help them off, dust them off, and point them in the right direction. Now in verse two he tells us to “Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” The Greek word for burdens here is baros, which refers to heavy loads that are difficult to lift and carry. In the context of this verse the burdens that Paul is talking about here are likely the sins or transgressions we are struggling with. In telling us to bear one another's burdens Paul is telling us that once we help our friend up off the ground and restore him, we are to be there for him to help him through whatever sin or burden he is carrying at that time. That means taking the time to talk with him, counsel him, pray for him, and anything else that would help him carry the load which is likely crushing him. In doing so we will be fulfilling the law of Christ which Paul told us back in chapter 5: “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Of course the ultimate example here is Jesus bearing our burdens on the Cross. In the verse Martin Luther calls “the great exchange”, Paul explains it perfectly: “For our sake He made Him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus took our place on the cross, bearing our sin so that we would be seen as righteous. We are to follow his example by bearing each others burdens.

Pride is a very destructive thing and is at the root of most of our sin. Paul warns us against pride in verse three when he says: “For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” Paul is telling us here that we are all nothing. Left to ourselves we are worthless. In and of ourselves is nothing to boast about. Paul is warning here against the prideful person who thinks that he is a good person, and deserving of God’s grace and forgiveness. In this context pride can be dangerous for two reasons.

First pride will cause us to think of ourselves as superior to others which will in turn keep us from offering to bear each others burdens. We will likely say things to ourselves like “He got himself into this mess, he can get himself out.” Or “I was careful and worked hard to make sure I’m not in that situation, he should have done the same.” Those may very well be true statements but that does not excuse us from the command to bear each others burdens.

Second, pride will keep us from admitting when we need help carrying a burden of our own. James 5:16 tells us: “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed.” When we are in sin and the weight of that sin is too much to carry we have an obligation to confess to a friend who will be able to help us carry that burden. The blinding effect of pride will keep us from doing so.

Being open and honest with each other carries with it some danger that we must guard against. When we are transparent with each other about our sins we have to be careful not to compare ourselves with each other. Paul tells us in verse four: “But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.” God does not grade on a curve. He will not look at my life and compare it to anyone else’s. My life and the things I do will be put up against His divine, perfect standards for me. We have to be careful not to say to ourselves “Compared to him I am a really good person.” Instead we should say “Compared to God’s standard, I am in big trouble and in need of Jesus to save me.” Do not fall into the trap of looking around at others to see how you are doing. Look to the perfect standards of God, realize that you fall infinitely short, and thank Him for sending Jesus to take your punishment.

In continuing verse four Paul tells us that “each one will have to bear his own load.” This carries a couple of meanings.

First, on judgment day you will have to give an account for yourself. You cannot ride anyone’s coattails into heaven. You are not justified by anyone else’s actions. You will not be saved because you are part of a good church, because you have a faithful spouse, or because your parents taught you about Jesus. As 2 Cor. 5:10 puts it: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”

Secondly, what Paul tells us in this verse seems to contradict what he just told us in verse two about bearing each others burdens. Notice, though, that the two words are different and in Greek this is significant. In verse two Paul uses the word “burden” meaning heavy loads that are difficult to lift and carry. In this verse the word is “load” or phortion in Greek. This refers to a anything that is carried and has no connotation of difficulty. Paul is telling us here to man up, shut up, and carry your own weight. Don’t expect others to do your work for you. We have all been given work to do so don’t expect anyone else to do your part. There are things in this life we will need help with and in those cases we are obligated to ask. But then there are things that we are expected to take care of on our own. Men, this means, leading your family and not expecting your pastor to do so. It means getting a job and providing financially for your loved ones. It means loving your wife as God has called you to do so she doesn’t feel the need to go somewhere else and get it. It means protecting your children from the dangers of the world. It means educating them in the important things in life and not relying on the school system to do it. It means looking around, seeing what needs to be done, and doing it. It means being a leader and visionary for your family so that they are taken care of in every way while you are here and after you’re gone. It pisses me off when I see limp-wristed men who are not willing to man up and be the men that God has called them to be. They desert their families either physically by leaving their wives for their girlfriends or by checking out emotionally and leaving the leadership of the family to the over-stressed, over-worked wife. Paul tells us here to knock it off and carry the load you have been given.

In these verses Paul tells us that as Christians it is important that we bear each others burdens while at the same time carrying our own load.

Miss USA Responds to Gay Marriage Question

Thoughts on Galatians 6:1

"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted."

The church is not a place for those people who have it all figured out. It is not a place for people who have their lives in order and their problems, addictions and bad habits kicked. So often people think that in order to become a Christian or go to church your life has to be pretty much cleaned up. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact I would say that Christianity is the place you need to be especially if you are having a difficult time with anything in life. Biblically, this is exactly what we see going on. The Bible is a book full of filthy scumbag sinners who repeatedly turn their backs on God and to whom God graciously sends His Son to die for. There is a name in the Bible for those folks (church folks especially) who think they have it all figured out and believe they are basically "good, clean-living people". They are called Pharisees. During his ministry Jesus was constantly in conflict with these “good, clean-living, law abiding” people and it was the same group of people who eventually called for Jesus’ crucifixion. Speaking of the Pharisees Jesus says:

“You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

Jesus did not come for those people who believed they had it all figured out and were earning their way into heaven by the "good" lives they lead. He came for the sick. When the Pharisees were hassling Jesus because he was always hanging out and eating and drinking with the low-life’s Jesus replied to them:

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

In one of his parables Jesus tells the story about a Pharisee who thinks he is righteous because of his “clean living” and a tax collector who realizes that he is depraved, a sinner:

“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

How did these Pharisees, or church people, deal with those whom they perceived to be “dirty sinners”? They dealt with them very harshly and in a cruel manner. In our verse today Paul tells us to deal with those “caught in any transgression”, or sin, with “a spirit of gentleness.” Also, and most importantly, the goal of confronting anyone who is sinning is restoration to a right relationship with God through repentance. Paul tells us of a person caught in sin that we are to “restore him in a spirit of gentleness.” Jesus modeled this for us when the Pharisees brought him a woman who had been caught in adultery:

“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Jesus dealt with this woman with a spirit of gentleness. Notice he did not say that it was OK that she had been caught in adultery. He did not make excuses for her or condone her behavior. He recognized that she was in sin, told her she was in sin and told her to knock it off.

Paul then goes on to say “Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” Pharisees, or church people, tend to always point out the sin in others while ignoring the sin that is eating them alive. Paul is telling the Galatians to make sure they are not so busy examining everyone else’s life looking for sin that they don’t examine themselves and remove any sin they are in. Jesus also warns us of this:

“For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.”

In his book, "The Reason for God", Tim Keller puts it much better than I ever could:

"A central message of the Bible is that we can only have a relationship with God by sheer grace. Our moral efforts are too feeble and falsely motivated to ever merit salvation. Jesus, through his death and resurrection, has provided salvation for us, which we receive as a gift. All churches believe this in one form or another. Growth in character and change in behavior occur in a gradual process after a person becomes a Christian. The mistaken belief that a person must ‘clean up’ his or her own life in order to merit God’s presence is not Christianity. This means, though, that the church will be filled with immature and broken people who still have a long way to go emotionally, morally, and spiritually. As the saying has it: ‘The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.’

… Now imagine that someone with a very broken past becomes a Christian and her character improves significantly over what is was. Nevertheless, she still may be less secure and self-disciplined than someone who is so well adjusted that she feels no particular need for religious affiliation at all. Suppose you meet both of these women the same week. Unless you know the starting points and life journeys of each woman, you could easily conclude that Christianity isn’t worth much, and that Christians are inconsistent with their own high standards. It is often the case that people whose lives have been harder and who are ‘lower on the character scale’ are more likely to recognize their need for God and turn to Christianity. So we should expect that many Christians’ lives would not compare well to those of the nonreligious (just as the health of people in the hospital is comparatively worse than people visiting museums).”

So what is the point of Galatians 6:1? Recognize that the church is a place for sick, sinful people and that you are one of them. Deal with each others sin gently but make sure you deal with it. And don’t examine other people for sin until you have first looked at your own sin, and repented of it.

A Tribute to Mark Tunell

Yesterday, April 17th, at 4:35 P.M. a man I never knew, Mark Tunell, passed away due to a brain tumor. Like I said I never knew him but I have good friends who did. By all accounts he was a wonderful Christian, husband, and daddy. Although we never met I consider him a brother in Christ and was deeply saddened when I heard of his passing. I felt grief for his wife and three small children and joy for him as he is now with Jesus.

Today as I look at various web pages I see tributes to him that he no doubt was deserving of. A lot of the postings say something like "A great man lost his fight to a brain tumor yesterday." Please understand I do not mean to put down those who wrote that as I know it was written with the best of intentions. I want to be clear though and make sure everyone understands:

Mark Tunell did not lose his fight, HE WAS VICTORIOUS, HE IS VICTORIOUS!!!!!

Mark was victorious in at least two ways through his trial.

First, the moment in time when Mark layed his life in front of Jesus and submitted to his will, Mark's victory was sealed. In Paul's first letter to Corinth he writes of this victory:

"For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Because Mark gave his life to Jesus, through the power of Jesus, Mark was victorious over death and now lives eternally with the Lord Jesus.

Secondly, as John Piper puts it, "All experiences of suffering in the path of Christian obedience, whether from persecution or sickness or accident, have this in common: They all threaten our faith in the goodness of God and tempt us to leave the path of obedience." In Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus he writes of the battle to leave the path of obedience that Mark certainly faced:

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

Undoubtedly, Mark was temped to question the goodness of God and his will in Mark's life. From the accounts I have been told, Mark never left the path of obedience. He was strong, brave, and faithful as a Christian, husband and father to the end. Because of Mark's obedience and faithfulness God is glorified which is the ultimate purpose for all of our lives. I praise God that Mark was able to fulfill that purpose so amazingly and faithfully. Through the power of Jesus, Mark was victorious in his obedience to our heavenly father. HE WAS VICTORIOUS!

"Therefore, every triumph of faith and all perseverance in obedience are testimonies to the goodness of God and the preciousness of Christ—whether the enemy is sickness, Satan, sin, or sabotage. Therefore, all suffering, of every kind, that we endure in the path of our Christian calling is a suffering “with Christ”and “for Christ.” With Him in the sense that the suffering comes to us as we are walking with Him by faith and in the sense that it is endured in the strength He supplies through His sympathizing high-priestly ministry(Hebrews 4:15). For Him in the sense that the suffering tests and proves our allegiance to His goodness and power and in the sense that it reveals His worth as an all-sufficient compensation and prize."

"The pearl of greatest price is the glory of Christ. Thus, Paul stresses that in our sufferings the glory of Christ’s all-sufficient grace is magnified. If we rely on Him in our calamity and He sustains our “rejoicing in hope,” then He is shown to be the all-satisfying God of grace and strength that He is." I am thankful and inspired that Mark was able to do this. "If we hold fast to Him “when all around our soul gives way,” then we show that He is more to be desired than all we have lost. Christ said to the suffering apostle,"

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul responded to this:

“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10).

So suffering clearly is designed by God not only as a way to wean Christians off of self and onto grace, but also as a way to spotlight that grace and make it shine. That is precisely what faith does; it magnifies Christ’s future grace."

I wish I could have known Mark. I am thankful though that his story and legacy of faithfulness, obedience, and victory lives on. I am thankful for Jesus and the strength he gave to Mark through his trial. I am thankful that Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected so that Mark could be with him forever.

As soon as I heard about Mark's story I began to pray for him and for his family. I prayed that God would heal him and make him whole again. When I heard of his death I was grieved. Then I read the words written by his wife telling people of his passing:

"Mark's pain and suffering has ended and he is now with the Lord in Paradise. I feel comforted in knowing that I helped cheer him on as he took the first steps into his new life. I told him that it was ok to go, that he needs to let God make him whole again."

Thank you Jesus for healing Mark, for making him whole again and for the story you were able to tell through his life.

For more information on Mark you can click here. If you are interested in helping out his family in any way please contact me at rlg024@gmail.com and I will put you in touch with the right people.

Thoughts on Zechariah 3:1-5

Last month a debate took place regarding the existence of Satan. You can watch it here. In my reading from today, Zechariah 3:1-5, Satan shows up and does what he does best: accusation. In Scripture Satan is referred to as "the accuser of our brothers" and "the father of all lies". I know from personal experience that this is true. Sometimes when I sin there is a voice inside of me speaking accusations and lies. I'll hear things like "You are a disgrace" or "God doesn't care about you". These are accusations and lies from Satan. I can't think of any other time I refer to myself in the third person except when I hear these things. I urge you to pay close attention to your thoughts and if you hear the third person, pay very close attention, it may be the accuser of brothers and the father of lies speaking to you.

In today's passage Satan is up to his usual activity of accusation. Here we see Joshua in court as the defendant. He is standing before the angel of the Lord, who is the judge and Satan is standing at Joshua's right hand to accuse him; Satan is the prosecutor.

As Satan begins his work of accusation the Lord steps in. "The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?" How awesome is this for the Christian? This should be so comforting to us. As a Christian you do not have to fight Satan alone. The moment Satan begins his attacks all we have to do is call on Jesus and he will step in. He will intercede for us. Hebrews 7:25 tells us "Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them." Close your eyes and picture it. Satan comes to accuse and attack you and you call on Jesus to step in and all of the sudden you hear the Lord's voice defending YOU "The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?" Notice that God says He plucked Joshua from the fire. He does not say that Joshua jumped out of the fire into God's out-stretched hand. God chose Joshua and in His love and grace plucked Joshua from the fire. If you are a Christian please understand that you played absolutely no part in your salvation. You were burning up, just like Joshua, and God literally grabbed you by the collar and yanked you out of the fire.

The passage goes on: "Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments." Notice that Joshua is not innocent here. He is clothed with filthy garments. He is dirty, guilty of sin just like the rest of us. But that did not stop God from stepping in and defending Joshua just like our sin will not cause God to forsake us. Then we see the result of Jesus' death and resurrection played out in Joshua. Knowing that Joshua was guilty the angel of the Lord says "Remove the filthy garments from him. And to him he said, Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments." Through Jesus death and resurrection we are clothed with righteousness, washed clean by his blood. Paul puts it perfectly in his letter to Titus: "But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Satan is real. He is active in the world today he is even called the "ruler of this world" in Scripture. The good news is that we do not have to fight Satan alone. We do not have to face him by ourselves. Jesus is alive and has destroyed Satan's power in our lives. If you have sin in your life that you want to stop, if you have destructive habits that are slowly destroying your life, stop fighting by yourself, call upon Jesus, admit to him that you are a sinner and cannot save yourself, that you desperately need him to rescue you from the fire and destroy the power of Satan in your life. He will come and he will intercede for you.

"And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Now that Easter is over....

The Easter holiday has now passed. For Christians Easter is the biggest day of the year. Christianity itself rests on Easter. If there is no resurrection, there is no Christianity. As 1 Corinthians 15:17-19 "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied." Now that the festivities are over, now that the Easter bunny has gone back to where ever he came from (I hope he stays there), now that all the excitement is over, we all have the tendency to put the message of Easter up in the closet with all the silly decorations. Please do not make that mistake.

Most of us know the real meaning of Easter is not about waking up in the morning hunting for colored eggs and searching through a basket that some giant mutant bunny left for us. Rather we understand that Easter holiday weekend is about the crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. The problem is that most of us stop there. When Monday comes we forget about Easter and the meaning of it all. For Easter to mean anything we must not stop on Sunday but ask ourselves on Monday "What does it all mean?" Like I said most of us understand the meaning of Easter itself but do we understand what the implications are on our life because of the Easter message? If we do not answer that question we will not truly understand the meaning of Easter and the power it has to change our lives. So what does Jesus' crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection mean for us as Christians? In his book Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die, John Piper tells us:

It means that God's wrath ,which you deserve, was absorbed by Jesus. Galatians 3:13 says "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by become a curse for us - for it is written 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.'" John Piper writes "If God were not just, there would be no demand for his Son to suffer and die. And if God were not loving, there would be no willingness for his Son to suffer and die. But God is both just and loving. Therefore his love is willing to meet the demands of his justice."

It means the legal demands of the law against you have been canceled. Colossians 2:13-14 says "And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross."

It means your sins have been forgiven. Matthew 26:28 says "for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

It means your condemnation has been taken away. Romans 8:1 says "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:34 continues "Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us."

It means you can live with a clear conscience. Hebrews 9:14 "how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God."

It means you can have eternal life in heaven. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

It means that you are free from the futility and destructive sins of your ancestors. 1 Peter 1:18-19 "knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot."

It means that you are now able to live for Christ instead of yourself. 2 Corinthians 5:15 "and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."

It means you can understand the deepest meaning for marriage. Ephesians 5:25 "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."

It means you no longer have to fear death. Hebrews 2:14-15 "Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery."

It means you can look the worst evil in the face and understand that it is meant by God for good. Acts 4:27-28 "for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place." John Piper explains: "There is no greater sin than to hate and kill the Son of God. There was no greater suffering nor any greater innocence than the suffering and innocence of Christ. Yet God was in it all. 'It was the will of the LORD to crush him' (Isaiah 53:10). His aim, through evil and suffering, was to destroy evil and suffering."

Now that Easter is over please do not take the Easter message and put it in the closet. Instead think daily about what Jesus did for you personally, meditate on what it means, and live your lives in the power that the message affords you.

Join us for Easter

Come to Church of the Cross for Easter!!

http://www.churchofthecrossaz.com

Easter

Thoughts on Philippians 3:12

"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own."

We are saved by faith alone in Christ alone. That does not mean, however, that we have no responsibility in the working out of our salvation. There is a necessary balance between Christ’s work in making us righteous and our work in our own righteousness. Please understand that Christ’s work ALWAYS precedes our own. Christ comes first and changes our hearts and only then will we even have the desire to work for our own righteousness. It never happens in the opposite order. It will never happen that Christ sees us doing good things, working for our salvation and then, as a result, decides to come and grant us righteousness as a reward for all our hard work. Scripture is clear: “We love because he first loved us.”

This verse highlights the tension between Christ’s work in us and our responsibility to work. There is a balance here of God’s call and our response. Paul writes: “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” Paul understands that he has a responsibility to press on to make righteousness his own. He also understands that this responsibility is a result of the saving work that Jesus has done in him.

I really like that term “press on.” For me it evokes pictures of extremely hard work. I think back to times in the fire academy when it was 110 out with 75 lbs of gear on climbing up flights of stairs with another 25lbs of gear on my back. I remember how absolutely exhausted I was. I remember feeling like the muscles in my legs were so strained that they could not carry me another step. I also remember the encouragement we gave to each other. We would say things like “press on” “keep going” “we can do this”. We all understood that because of the call to this line of work we all accepted we had a responsibility to “press on” through the most difficult circumstances in order to reach the goal that was put before us. The Christian life should be no different. We should all understand that, as a result of Jesus’ call on our lives, we have a responsibility to “press on”, to work as hard as we can, especially when we feel like we can’t make it another step to accomplish the work Christ gave us to do.

"Paul knew his reward was sure in Christ. But he also knew that he would receive it only by pressing forward, working out his salvation with fear and trembling just as Christ was working in him (Phil 2:12-13). Sanctification (our growth in holiness) is a cooperative effort between us and God. He makes our victory certain in Christ, but we know that it is ours if we press on away from sin and toward Jesus (2 Peter 1:10-11)" (Sproul).

For further explanation of the balance between faith and works see my posting from March 27th.

Who Killed God?

Thoughts on Galatians 5:19-23

"Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.” These are the works of the flesh. These are things that all of us at one time or another are guilty of. Apart from God saving us these are the deepest desires of our hearts. Now lets compare the works of the flesh with the fruit or works of the Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”. These are the deepest desires of the regenerated heart. These are the deepest desires of a Spirit filled Christian.

Do not misunderstand me, I’m not saying that as Christians we won’t desire to take part in any of the works of the flesh, we will. There is a battle going on inside of every Christian between the desires of the Spirit and the desires of the flesh. We just read this in verse 17: “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” Paul, the great apostle and author of thirteen books of the New Testament, struggled mightily with these opposing desires. In his letter to the Romans he writes: “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” He goes on: “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”

In speaking of the works of the flesh Paul writes in verse 21: “those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” The question then becomes “How do I know if I’m going to heaven? If I still desire sin and the works of the flesh and do them am I really a Christian?” To answer those questions we need to look at a couple of things.

First, what is your attitude toward sin or the works of the flesh when you do them? Let’s look back carefully at Romans 7 to what Paul said about his struggles with sin. He says : “For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” and: “…but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” Paul calls the works of the flesh evil and says he hates them and does not want to do them. This is the attitude of a person with a regenerated heart. A Christian will hate his sin. He will still enter into temptation at times because as we know “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” The response to our sin will give us a good indicator as to whether or not we are indeed Christian. If we, like Paul, hate our sin and recognize it as evil, we do so only by the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us.

Secondly, we need to look closely about what Paul says about going to heaven: “those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Notice he does not say “those who have done such things.” The verb in this text is a present participle and refers to those who make a practice of doing such things, as a pattern of life. Their outward conduct indicates their inward spiritual status: that they are not born of God, do not have the Holy Spirit within, and are not God's true children. Again, this is not to say that we will never do or have never done these things. Rather, as Christians with new hearts we should see an outward indicator of our inward status. Many times it is a slow process. The point is that there should be evidence of change in our lives once God, by His grace, gives us a regenerated heart with new desires and new goals. If there is no evidence of such change, ask yourself if you are truly a Christian. If you find that you are not, repent, and ask God to give you a new heart that would desire to glorify Him.

Thoughts on Galatians 5:18

“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

God’s people are in a covenant relationship with Him. “A covenant is a binding contract between two parties, both of whom have obligations specified in the covenant. In Old Testament times, covenants were often given by an all-powerful suzerain (overlord) to a weaker, dependent vassal (servant). They guaranteed the vassal benefits and protection. But in turn, the vassal was obligated to be loyal solely to the suzerain, with the warning that disloyalty would bring punishments as specified in the covenant. As long as the vassal kept the stipulations, the suzerain knew that the vassal was loyal. But when the stipulations were violated, the suzerain was required by the covenant to take action to punish the vassal” (Fee and Stuart). Throughout the Bible we see examples of God entering into covenant with His people. Covenant is the word God uses to explain His relationship and promises to such men as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. These men acted as the “head” of the covenant, being responsible for the oversight and execution of that particular covenant. In the New Testament the head of the New Covenant is Jesus. “Throughout the covenants between God and the elect the recurring theme is that He will be their God and they will be His people because He will send Jesus to forgive their sins which is the essence of the New Covenant” (Driscoll).

Up until the time of Jesus God’s people were under or obligated to God by the Mosaic Covenant which consisted of 613 various laws that God’s people were to follow. The laws were given to Moses, who acted as the mediator of the covenant, by God and written in the first five books of the Bible, called the Law or Pentateuch. God then sent His son Jesus as mediator or head of a New Covenant. This New Covenant was prophesied about by Jeremiah:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

At the last supper Jesus spoke about the New Covenant he came to establish: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

So we have the Old Covenant and now that Jesus has come, we have the New Covenant. The question then, for many Christians, becomes “As a Christian, am I bound by or obligated to keep the terms of the Old Covenant?” The question is addressed numerous places throughout Scripture including the text I am reading today.

“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” When we talk about the “law” as we have been in Galatians we are talking about the laws of the Old Covenant. “If you are led by the Spirit…” If you are a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you. Jesus said the Holy Spirit “will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” and He will “guide you into all the truth.” Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit “dwells with you and will be in you.” This is what Jeremiah meant when he prophesied “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.” As Christians, filled with the Holy Spirit, we are not bound by the restraints of the Old Covenant, we are not, as Paul puts it “under the law.”This question is addressed many more places in Scripture including Hebrews 8:13: “In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” Romans 6:14: “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” Romans 7:6: “But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.”

“The Old Testament is not our Testament. Testament is another word for covenant. The Old Testament represents God’s previous covenant with Israel made on Mount Sinai, which is one we are no longer obligated to keep. Therefore we can hardly begin by assuming that the old covenant should automatically be binding on us. We should assume, in fact, that none of its stipulations (laws) are binding on us unless they are renewed in the new covenant. That is, unless an Old Testament law is somehow restated or reinforced in the New Testament, it is no longer directly binding on God’s people” (Fee and Stuart).

The most common objection to this stance is taken by those citing Luke 16:17: “But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void” or Matthew 5:18: “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” Many will ask “Didn’t Jesus say that we are still under the Law since not an iota will pass from the Law?” The answer is no, he did not say that. Jesus says that he is confirming the full authority of the OT as Scripture for all time (2 Tim. 3:15–16), even down to the smallest components of the written text. He tells us that those laws will never become void since they reflect the very person and character of God, who will never pass away. “Jesus came to establish a new covenant (see Luke 22:20; cf. Heb 8-10), and in so doing “fulfilled” the purpose of the old, thus bringing its time to an end” (Fee and Stuart). Jesus himself tells us this in Matthew 5:17: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

As Christians we are not automatically bound by the restrictions of the old covenant. We are however still in covenant with God as His people. Paul sums up the covenant perfectly in his letter to the Galatians: “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Confession

As I sat down to read tonight I did what I normally do. I opened my Bible and prayed for God to open my heart and my mind so that I would be able to understand the Scriptures and apply them correctly to my life. As I read my verses for the day I felt nothing. The words didn't speak to me. I felt nothing move inside of me revealing the meaning of the text. I felt no connection between my life and the words inspired by the Holy Spirit. I feel spiritually dead inside. I HATE it when this happens! The easy thing to do right now would be to close my Bible and give up and tell myself I'll try again tomorrow and maybe the words will speak to me then. I have done that so many times. But in life the easy thing is rarely the right thing. More often than not the more difficult road to take is the one that needs to be taken. So instead of closing my Bible I ask myself why. Why is God's word not speaking to me? Why is the Gospel not moving me as it sometimes does? Why do I feel spiritually dead right now?

I've heard it put this way: "If you feel distant from God, it's not Him that moved, it's you." As I'm sitting here thinking about this I look down at my text again. Today's text is Galatians 5:16-17: "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do." Walk by the Spirit. What does that mean? It means I am supposed to live my life empowered by the Holy Spirit. I am supposed to let the Holy Spirit guide my life. I am supposed to listen to the promptings that the Holy Spirit gives me in my daily life. It means spending time daily in communion with God reading the Bible, meditating on the Gospel, and praying to our Father. What does Paul tell us will happen if we walk by the Spirit? He tells us we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. The desires of the flesh are not necessarily bad things in and of themselves. Our sinful nature often turns them into sinful things. Verse 17 goes on to tell us that the desires of the flesh will try to keep us from doing the things we want to do.

As I read this I can clearly see that the reason the Bible is not speaking to me or moving me is not because it's not speaking or moving, it's because I have not been walking by the Spirit. As I sit here tonight I confess that I have not read my Bible since Wednesday. That's three full days without spending time in God's word. What does Jesus tell us is Scripture?: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." How would I feel if I had not eaten food for three days? I confess that I have not spent more that a minute in prayer, speaking to and listening to God. The word of God tells me to "be constant in prayer" and to "pray without ceasing". I have not come close to doing either. I have done what Paul warned against in his first letter to the Thessalonians when he said "do not quench the Spirit." Because I have not been walking by the Spirit I have been doing what Paul told me would happen. I have been gratifying the desires of the flesh. Like I said these things are not sinful in themselves but when I, in my sinful nature, put them over spending time with God, they become sinful. What fleshly desires have I gratified? I normally spend time every afternoon with my computer, cell phone, tv and everything else off so that I can devote time to study and prayer. Since Wednesday I have substituted that time with watching eight episodes of 24. Is watching 24 a sin? No. But it becomes one when I make it a priority over time with God.

I now understand the reason for the times when the Bible doesn't speak to me, when it doesn't move me, or when I just don't understand it. It is because in the time leading up to my reading I have not been walking by the Spirit. I cannot expect to put God up on the shelf throughout my week and then expect Him to speak to me through His word anytime I feel like taking Him off my shelf. It is the same with any other relationship. If, throughout the course of the week, Oksana were reaching out to me, calling me, wanting me to engage her in conversation, and all I did was completely ignore her, I would not expect her to talk to me when I decided I finally had time for her.

If you feel nothing when you are reading Scripture, if it does not move you or speak to you, YOU have moved, not God. I would encourage you to ask yourself if you are walking by the Spirit. If you find that you are not, repent, and begin walking by the power He provides.

Thoughts on Galatians 5:13

"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."

I can’t count the number of times I’ve told people that we are saved by faith and not by works and they come back with something like “well then I can just sin all I want to because I’m still going to heaven.” Paul addresses this ridiculous statement in this verse. “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Paul is telling the Galatians “look, you are saved by faith through grace and there is nothing you can do to earn your salvation but that doesn’t mean you should take advantage of Jesus’ gift by seeing it as a license to sin.” Instead we should be thankful to God for His gift to us and serve Him by obeying Him. How do we obey Him? Paul tells us: “through love, serve one another.” Paul is just echoing what Jesus says in a conversation recorded in the book of Mark: “And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:28-31). Jesus tells us to love Him and love the people around us.

If you see God’s grace as a license to sin, if you see what Jesus did on the cross as “an opportunity for the flesh” and not a call to love one another as he loved us, I would suggest seriously asking yourself if you are even a Christian at all. Loving Jesus and serving him go hand in hand. Look closely at verse 31 from above: “There is no other commandment greater than these.” Notice the subject, commandment, is singular, not plural. Jesus does this for a very specific reason. Although he gives us more than one commandment in those verses, he is telling us that they are inseparable. These two commandments: “love the Lord your God” and “love your neighbor” are one, they are singular, they are inseparable. My point is this: if you are truly a Christian and you truly love God, you will not use grace as a permission slip to cheat on your spouse, get drunk, go to the strip club, yell at your wife, abuse your kids, or gratify any fleshly desire. If you love God, you will see grace as a gift from Him and share the love He has given to you by serving those around you.

Thoughts on Galatians 5:12

I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

I love this. Paul is telling the Galatians that he wishes these people leading them astray by telling them they must be circumcised to be saved would cut off their manhood. This ties in perfectly with what Paul said in verses 2 and 3 "…if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.” Paul is telling the Galatians again that salvation is by faith, not works and that circumcision is of no use to them. As he said in verse 3 that a man who accepts circumcision must keep the whole law, he says a bit differently here. He wishes the men who were telling the Galatians to cut off their foreskin would not stop at the foreskin and cut it all off. You cant just keep part of the law right? You have to keep the whole thing. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Paul is using this part of the anatomy. He is following the Judaizers logic through to the end. Paul is a genius, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Remember, “all Scripture is God breathed” even this part where Paul admonishes the Judaizers to cut off their stuff.