Galatians 2:11-21 Serve Humbly!

Galatians 2:11-21  When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.  For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles.  But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.  The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.  When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew.  How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?  We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.  So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.  “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin?  Absolutely not!  If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.  “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

In the above focus, we see Peter, a foundational apostle, the one who said by the Holy Spirit’s unction that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God, now wavering in his understanding that the uncircumcised Gentiles and the circumcised Jews are equal before God.  Paul was fully convinced that circumcision and following the law added nothing to being right with God.  He died to the idea that the law was necessary to know or please a righteous God, I died to the law so that I might live for God.  Every aspect of being right with God through his own works was crucified on the cross.  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  I live by faith in the Son of God.  Peter understood this too, for he had seen the Gentile Cornelius and his household baptized in the Holy Spirit.  After the Jerusalem elders came to Antioch, Peter’s preference to eat only with the Jews bothered Paul a lot, for Peter was now making a distinction between the Jews from Jerusalem and the Greeks in Antioch.  The Jerusalem brethren believed that circumcision was a necessary step for all Christians who come to believe in Jesus as their Lord. Along with circumcision as a necessary act in being right with God, they also believed in the customs of the Jews as important to follow, such as following the Jewish hygiene procedures before and after eating a meal.  The Pharisees condemned Jesus’ disciples for not washing their hands before eating.  The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.  (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.  When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash.  And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.  (Mark 7:1-4)  Now out of fear of the Jewish brethren from Jerusalem who were law-bound, Peter and Barnabas chose to eat with them only and not with their Greek brethren.  Paul knew that both Peter and Barnabas knew that to be right with God, one must have faith only in Jesus’ work on the cross.  They knew Jesus alone purifies people, rids them of their sins and makes them right with God; no other work pleases a righteous, perfect God.  After Jesus the Christ had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.  (Hebrews 1:3)  This choice of Peter to sit only with the Jews at meal time was pure hypocrisy.  Peter’s hypocrisy was a dangerous leaven.  Paul had to address openly this hypocrisy, for it was leading other Jews in Antioch to make a distinction between the circumcised and the uncircumcised believers. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew.  How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?  Peter was living in freedom that Christ won for him by his work on the cross.  He was free from the shackles of the law.  Paul reminded him that Christ made him right with God, not the law. Then why would he shackle the Greeks with the law when he is living in the complete freedom that faith in Christ has earned for him.

This hypocrisy of pleasing God only through obedience to the law was very dangerous and would destroy the Good News in the Greek community. Paul knew the believing Greeks were not desiring to take on the likeness of Jews, but the likeness of Christ.  The Jewish customs and traditions were heavy burdens on people, so the Greeks were not seeking for these burdens to make their lives better.  They were seeking for a better way to be right with God.  The Greeks were heavily involved in serving many gods and in adopting the philosophies of learned men.  Paul's ministry was to both Jews and Greeks, who had very different ideas about life and about existence.  However, Paul preached only Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.  (1 Corinthians 1:23-25)  In today’s focus we see Paul concerned that the Jews are now trying to make the Greeks into law-abiding Jews.  This is an anathema to Paul.  This idea opposes the work of Christ on the cross and the freedom Jesus brings to people who trust in him.  Paul did not want the Jews to pursuade the Greeks to take on the burden of the law and the customs of the Jewish society.  If they attempt to do that they would lose out in their rightness with God that comes through faith.  They would lose their precious high priest who makes them eternally safe in God’s domain. Jesus came as a man to deal with the sins of mankind.  He alone makes us right with God and He alone is our high priest.  We have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.  Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.  (Hebrews 4:14-16)  If the law and works become a substitute for faith in Christ Jesus, then the high priest is no longer available to men and women.  The writer of Hebrews says, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  Paul is telling Peter and Barnabas to hold onto Christ, profess his righteousness, not their own righteousness, for their righteousness will NEVER make them right with God.  In the above focus, we see Paul is very fearful that this deadly hypocrisy of the Jerusalem Jews will spread through the believers in Galatia.  If it spreads, their souls will die, for they will trust in their dead works and not in Jesus’ ever-living works, finalized on the cross.

Jesus the Christ was sent to the world out of Mary’s womb.  The Spirit of God established this holy seed in Mary.  Jesus came in the weakness of the flesh.  Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.   (Hebrews 2:14-15)  Jesus completed the task that He had been commissioned to fulfill. He lived a sinless life even though He carried the weaknesses of the flesh.  He performed miracles and wonders that only God can do.  He paved the way to God for He did only the will of God.  He was filled with the Holy Spirit so He always had access to God’s directions.  Jesus made it possible to have the breath of life in the minds of Christians.  He breathed on the disciples and filled them with the Holy Spirit.  They would now have the words of God in their minds.  They would now be able to keep in step with the Holy Spirit.  They would be imbued with the fruit of the Spirit presented in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  This nature is what Paul was preaching to the Galatians.  He wanted both Greek and Jew to be fully filled with the love of God for all people.  He knew Law would separate people, not make them ONE IN CHRIST.  You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.  For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.  (Galatians 5:13-15)  Peter and Barnabas had been wrongly influenced by this idea that circumcision brings rightness with God.  They began to separate themselves from the uncircumcised by not eating with them.  Law always separates, but love serves one another humbly.  Jesus prayed to his Father, let them be one as we are one.  Now in Galatia we see circumcision was separating, not uniting in love.  Paul knows the grace of God: Jesus Christ, has been given to all mankind, everywhere and forever.  Paul desperately says to the Galatians, I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!  But Christ did not die for nothing.  Jesus said to Nicodemus, You must be born again.’  (John 3:7)  Born again is a simple step, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  (John 3:16)  Breakfast companions, do not let the insidious work of the devil enter your life; he would tell you that works contribute to your salvation.  No, your works will never earn you salvation--freedom forever, bought by the blood of Jesus.  The only true sign of your salvation is what Jesus told the Pharisees, believe in the one who spent three days in death and then was raised again by the Holy Spirit to new life.  You, dear friends have been raised to a born-again life through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  You have died and are raised again because you through faith IN Jesus Christ have a new life.  So, enjoy your freedom IN CHRIST.  Walk in him, talk in him, live in him!  He is your everything.  

Galatians 2:1-10 Choose Freedom!

Galatians 2:1-10  Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas.  I took Titus along also.  I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles.  I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain.  Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.  This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.  We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.  As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message.  On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised.  For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles.  James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me.  They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.  All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.

Paul is telling the Galatians that the gospel he ministered to them came directly from the Lord Jesus who intervened in his life on the road to Damascus.  After Jesus called him to be an apostle to the Greeks, Paul did not consult with any other apostles or leadership in the church.  Instead he went into Arabia to learn what is meant by being a follower of Jesus Christ.  In Arabia he learned about THE WAY to be right with God through faith IN Jesus Christ.  This truth of the way to be right with God was relayed directly from Jesus Christ.  Paul an inveterate enemy of Jesus, knew only a few general tenets of this apostate religion.  He understood Christians were fanatics about believing in this man, Jesus the Nazarene, as the promised Messiah to the Jews.  These Christians also believe that Jesus was raised from the dead.  Of course, Paul, known as Saul at the time, thought of them as being lunatics, for no one can escape the grave.  Consequently, when Jesus called him on the road to Damascus to be an apostle to the Greeks, he was quite ignorant about what Christianity entailed.  In Arabia Jesus revealed himself as the Messiah of the Jews through opening up the Pentateuch and the prophets' reference to him.  Paul as a rabbi believed fervently in the scriptures.  Jesus opened Paul’s eyes and unstopped his ears to the reality that Jesus was, and is, the Messiah of the Jewish people and also the Lord of all people on earth.  This same biblical course had earlier been taught to the two men on the road to Emmaus.  They were confused about the things they had seen and heard the last few days in Jerusalem.  They knew Jesus had been murdered by the Romans on a cross, but they had also heard the confusing message that Jesus had been resurrected.  Jesus, joined them on their travel to Emmaus and opened up their understanding of what they recently experienced in Jerusalem through a review of the Old Testament, teaching them that what they saw with their own eyes and what they heard about the resurrection were as the scriptures foretold.  Now we hear Paul tell the Galatians of his reeducation.  Jesus revealed to Paul that He was the Way, the Truth and the Life and that no one will be right with God until he or she puts faith in Jesus Christ as his or her savior.  Salvation from death comes only through faith in Jesus Christ.  Paul spent three years away from Jerusalem, teaching and ministering what he heard from the voice of God.  After that time, Paul went to Jerusalem to see if what he heard from Jesus was the true gospel.  He found that what he heard from Jesus through revelation was the same gospel the leaders were teaching.  However, since the Spirit of God is alive and active in Christians, Paul was receiving even deeper revelations about the salvation plan.  He was readily preaching grace, the gift of salvation to all who believe in the works of Jesus Christ.  He understood well that Jesus broke the hold of death on all people.  Jesus was the gate through which people could escape the consequence of sin, which is death.  Paul would tolerate no addition to Jesus being the only way out of the power of sin.  As a rabbi he knew well the 613 commandments in the Pentateuch that would supposedly lead people to God if they were were completely obedient to the law.  He was well versed in the law, well ahead of other rabbis his own age.  He was a teacher of the law; therefore, his hatred burned strongly against these apostate Christians who have abandoned the law as the necessary step to be right with God.  Now, after fourteen years he reconnects with the church leaders to verify that what he is teaching to the Gentiles is THE WAY to be right with God.  The church leaders put their stamp of approval on Paul’s ministry to the Greek world: the right hand of fellowship.

 Paul was very fearful about the inroad of teaching people to be circumcised to know God.  For Paul, to accept circumcision as a verification of being right with God would contaminate the purity of the gospel.  Therefore, he did not give in to the teaching of accepting circumcision as a necessary step to be a Christian.  He knew the requirements of the law would follow if people accepted the teaching of circumcision.  Paul taught strongly that the faith of Abraham made people right with God; any other belief would make them an enemy to God, for they would be discounting the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  Faith in Christ alone brings righteousness.  Faith in the words of God brought righteousness to Abraham, not the law. It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.  For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, because the law brings wrath.  (Romans 4:13-15)  Paul understood well, if the people went back into the law as a necessary step of being right with God, they would receive the wrath of God for no one has ever been able to fully satisfy the law by the way they lived.  Any variation to completely following the law will bring eternal judgement.  Only faith in Christ escapes the judgment of death on a person’s soul.  The dependency on the law to be right with God will close the gate to eternal life.  So Paul fervently attacked the Galatians' inclination that the addition of circumcision is a better way to be assured that they are right with God, but Paul says, it will lead them to destruction.  Paul is adamant about the salvation plan of God.  To be reconciled to God, people must accept God’s gift to them when they were buried in sin, enemies to a righteous and holy God.  The blood of Jesus was spilled for his enemies so that they might be right with God, curtailing the wrath of God on them.  God, through the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus the Christ, on the cross, has made us friends of God, children of the Most High.  We have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!  For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!  Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.  (Romans 5:9-11)  Paul wanted no interference from any other gospel than Christ alone.  He had heard this truth from Jesus Christ.  He had been blinded on the road to Damascus, so his eyes could be open to a better truth than dependence upon law as a way to be made right with God.  He was worried by the Galatians accepting circumcision as being part of the truth of knowing God.  He did not want their freedom IN CHRIST to be hampered.  If they accepted the law as a gate to eternal life, they would once again become slaves to sin and death.  THE WAY to eternal life, to escape the blanket of death on all people comes only through faith in Jesus Christ.  He is the only gate to freedom, to the ascension of the soul to God.  On the cross, we died with Jesus, our sins were nailed to the cross.  Now in the resurrected Christ, we too are resurrected with him to an eternal life. If we died with Christ, we will also live with him.  (Romans 6:8)  Paul could not believe that some were still teaching circumcision to those who have been set free to eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.  This pernicious belief would destroy the work of the cross and make Jesus’ death irrelevant in being right with God. But the real truth of knowing Christ is that people have have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.  (Romans 6:17-18)  The power of sin has been broken, the gate: Jesus Christ, has punctured a hole in the blanket of death, a sentence on all men and women. Therefore, Paul is encouraging the Galatians to put away the law that smothers them under the sentence of death.  Instead, choose freedom in the one who won the victory over sin and death.

The temptation to go back to the old covenant, the law, is alway present with men and women.  In the arrogance of humans, we want a say in our redemption.  As in the garden, did God really say we should not eat of that tree.  Of course Adam and Eve chose their self-will rather than believe in God’s words as absolute, irrefutable. The law is attractive to the self-willed nature of humans.  We just tell God, point the way and we will follow it in our own strength.  But THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE are all wrapped up in Jesus.  He is the gift of God, not one earned but just a gift of God. God tells the Hebrews that He has a gift for them and that they should put away their old law of works.  I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be my people.  No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord, ’because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.  For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”  (Hebrews 8:10-12)  This new covenant is not just for the Hebrews, it is for all mankind.  It is God’s gift to all people who trust in God’s words, as Abraham did.  And who is THE WORD?  Jesus is the Word and all things were created by him and through him.  So the new covenant is wrapped in and through the Word.  Trust in him and the Word will be planted in your heart.  The more you trust him the deeper your roots in him will grow; Know the Lord is the theme of the New Covenant.  Fall in love with Christ.  “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:31)  Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)  Jesus makes salvation very simple: my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”  (John 6:40)  The new covenant with mankind is fulfilled with those words: everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him will have eternal life.  Not maybe have new life, but HAVE new life.  Paul did not learn the way to God by the advice of others, even from the apostles who walked with Christ for three years, who heard all of Jesus’ teaching and saw all of his miracles.  Paul learned the salvation message from Jesus' own lips, for he was now an apostle for the whole world, not just the Jews.  He needed to know the gospel of salvation from the Origin of life itself.  So Paul is beseeching the Galatians, hang on to Jesus only, for HE IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.  Everything else is no gospel at all.  Know the truth, for the truth will set you free.  

Galatians 1:10-21 Let Your Light Shine!

Galatians 1:10-21  Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God?  Or am I trying to please people?  If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.  I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin.  I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.  For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.  I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.  But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being.  I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia.  Later I returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days.  I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother.  I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.   Then I went to Syria and Cilicia.  I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”  And they praised God because of me.

The believers in Galatia were jeopardizing their salvation by adding on works to be right with God.  Some people, probably Jews, were telling them that to be acceptable to a righteous God, they must be circumcised to indicate a separation from a sinful world. Of course, circumcision has its companion and that is the Law and its regulations.  Law was creeping into the soundness of God’s plan of salvation for people to be right with God. God’s plan of redemption is the work of Jesus on the cross.  The cross and the blood of Jesus cleanses mankind from sin through faith in him.  No other work or animal sacrifice was required by God to be right with him.  Salvation was a gift of God given to men and women freely, without any other deeds required by him.  Salvation came through faith in the works of Jesus, not the works of men and women.  The father of faith was Abraham, for he accepted the irrevocable words of God.  Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.  (Romans 4:3)  What God speaks is true and cannot be altered.  God promised Abraham a son coming from Sarah’s dead womb.  Abraham believed God’s word was irrefutable, unchangeable, and cannot be questioned.  THIS IS FAITH!  What God says, He does.  Abraham did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.  This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”  The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.  (Romans 4:20-25)  No other work but faith in God’s plan is needed to create new life.  God's plan of redemption from sin was in the heart of God from the beginning of time.  He made humans in his likeness, in his freedom and nature of freewill.  With this attribute of freewill, mankind was always in danger of altering God’s will for him. In Genesis we see the devil entering the picture of existence.  He is an enemy to God’s unalterable word.  He knew what God says will be done.  He also knew that Adam and Eve were made in God’s image, with freewill.  So he comes to Eve to exploit her freewill nature.  He is crafty and knowledgeable, so he uses words that might entice Eve to exercise her freewill in eating forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge. “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.  “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  (Genesis 3:4-5)  Eve knew she was doing wrong when she partook of the tree, but not understanding completely that God’s words are permanent, unalterable.  The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” (Genesis 3:2-3)  Because of her waywardness to God’s words, Adam and Eve were removed from from the Garden.  They would no longer exist forever, they would die outside of the Garden in a harsh world.   Paul in this letter to the Galatians is wrestling with the believers about them not wishing to follow God’s perfect plan of salvation, instead, desiring to place works in this redemptive plan of God.  Of course, he knew the origin of this deception was the scheme of the devil.  The devil knows God’s words cannot be messed with--death always follows.

Men and women often skew the plan of God by adding tidbits of the law within it.  But Paul is adamant about the plan of God, for he received it directly from Jesus.  Jesus told him the truth of the cross.  In Christ, believers are dead with Christ and are raised with Christ from death to a new life.  However, adding the ideas of others to God’s perfect plan of salvation will bring damnation, not a born again life.  Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste!  Do not touch!”?  These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.  (Colossians 2:20-22)   The Galatians were inserting circumcision as a necessary addition to the Good News. But this addition has only death in it, not a new life. The devil told Eve if you come up with your own plan, you will be like God.  But that is a huge deception, for there is only one God whose words must be obeyed.  He is not just an authority figure, He is God.  He created everything through Jesus Christ, known as the Word, the unchanging, unstoppable Word of God.  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)   What the Word says, will come into reality.  Paul knows that only the Word, Jesus Christ, can restore the Galatians to God.  The plan of God through the Word WILL HAPPEN, it is irrevocable.  “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.  There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.  For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.  I know that his command leads to eternal life.  So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”  (John 12:47-50)  Jesus spoke only the unalterable words of God, and what He says will not be changed in any way.  If God says Jesus is THE WAY to eternal life, then He IS THE WAY; Jesus is the only way to be right with God.  For Christians that should bring us great joy, for the word of God is written in stone; it will not be changed or erased.  But for the unredeemed it brings sorrow.  God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.  (John 3:16-18)  God’s words cannot be altered, for they will stand unchanged: whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  However, whoever does not believe stands condemned.  The believers receive eternal life with God; the unbelievers receive eternal judgment.  God’s words are irrevocable so they will be done.

In the Old Testament we see the results of disobeying or obeying God’s words.  King Saul ran across the reality of God’s unaltered words when he failed to carry out his instructions about the Amalekites.  He was to destroy everything they owned.  He was to kill all of them, not allowing even a baby to escape his sword.  Saul failed to carry out this command. Saul as Eve used his own God-given freedom to save some of the better animals to sacrifice to God, and he also saved the life of the Amalekites’ king.  But, because he disobeyed God’s eternal word and substituted his own ideas about what he should do with the King and the better animals, God judged him harshly.  “Tell me,” Samuel said. “Does the Lord really want sacrifices and offerings?  No!  He doesn't want your sacrifices.  He wants you to obey him.  Rebelling against God or disobeying him because you are proud is just as bad as worshiping idols or asking them for advice.  You refused to do what God told you, so God has decided that you can no longer be king.”  (1 Samuel 15:22-23)  In Saul’s mind he was doing the right thing.  Samuel tells Saul, your arrogance in disobeying God's word cost you your kingdom.  Saul thought he was dealing with just an authority.  You can disobey an authority, but he was dealing with God. You cannot disobey God and get away with it.  In the Old Testament we see the children of Israel dealt with harshly.  Finally they were dispersed from Canaan, living in other lands as slaves.  They thought they could live in Canaan based on their free wills and not in obedience to God’s demands on their lives.  They did not consistently take care of the poor, the disabled, the destitute, the orphans, and the widows.  They were cold-hearted to the needy.  However, God’s commands were unchangeable.  They were unwilling to have the goodness and justice of God in their society.  As King Saul found out, there are consequences for not following God’s commands.  Judgment will always follow when freewill trumps God’s words.  Moses could not enter into the Promised Land because he struck a rock, the presence of God that was always with them as THE ROCK.  He struck the rock out of anger rather that speak to it for the water it contained.  He was angry with the people so he did what his freewill could, strike the rock out of anger.  However, God demanded Moses to follow exactly his instructions.  Jesus said He always did what God told him to do.  Because Moses disobeyed, he was not holy, but because Jesus always obeyed the irrevocable word of God, He was completely holy.  Noah found favor with God because he obeyed God in building an ark exactly as God demanded.   I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it.  Everything on earth will perish.  But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.  Noah did everything just as God commanded him.  (Genesis 6:17-18 & 22)   He and his family were saved from destruction.  He knew by faith God’s words are inalterable. They must be followed exactly.  We around this breakfast table have taken God’s words seriously.  We are saved because we believe IN THE WORD: Jesus Christ.  Through the Word all things were created and through him, light came into existence.  Jesus said He is the light of the world. We are lights too because we reflect his light.  Paul was struggling with the Galatians because their lights were being dimmed because of adding works to God’s salvation plan.  Good works to know God will kill the light.  Knowing God comes only through believing the irrefutable plan of God. Paul was astonished that the Galatians were deserting God’s irrevocable Plan of salvation, substituting their own ideas about salvation.  Paul tells them the truth; their plans are really no gospel at all.  Dear friends, do not add anything to the perfect grace of God.  What God has done through his son, Jesus, is enough: perfect!  Jesus said on the cross, IT IS FINISHED.  Love, Dad and Mom   

Galatians 1:1-9 Walk in Peace and Grace!

Galatians 1:1-9  Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—and all the brothers and sisters with me, Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever.  Amen.  I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all.  Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.  But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!  As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

As we move into the letter to the Galatians, we see the issue of circumcision come to the forefront.  This demand that believers should be circumcised is a lethal distortion from from the grace of God freely given to all people who believe in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and in his resurrection.  The prophet Jeremiah announced this new covenant with men and women. This covenant is not based on the efforts of men and women to win favor with God.  It is God’s gift to mankind, based on his mercy and grace.  “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be my people.  No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”  (Jeremiah 31:33-34)  On the road to Damascus, God chose Paul to spread this Good News to the Gentiles.  But everywhere he went with this message of God’s grace and mercy, the followers of Judaism wanted circumcision to accompany the Good News.  Paul was strongly opposed to any addition to the freedom Christ’s salvation brings to people.  Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!  The plan of God to redeem people should not be altered in any way.  Later on in chapter one we understand why Paul was so adamant about what he was teaching to the Gentiles.  I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin.  I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.  (Galatians 1:11-12)  Christ himself revealed what was planned in the heart of God from the beginning of time: to restore men and women back to him through the works of Jesus Christ, his Son.  Paul begins this letter to the Galatians with what God desires for them in their lives, grace and peace.  Without Christ in their lives, they are lost in the darkness of Galatia, bound for eternal judgement.  Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever.  (Galatians 1:3-5) This theme of the world being dark and sinful is seen throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament.  Jesus called his generation wicked and adulterous.  John the Baptist referred to the religious leaders of the Jews as vipers. The prophets constantly warned the Israelites about impending judgment by the hand of God because of their adulterous and wicked affairs.  This wickedness of mankind has been evident ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, so a Savior, a Redeemer, was needed to rescue men and women from their sinful state.  At Jesus’ crucifixion we see the culmination of God’s plan to rescue people from their sinfulness and restore them to himself.  Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”  A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.  When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.  (John 19:28-30)  

What is finished?  The story of redemption is finished.  The reason for Jesus’ existence is finished.  A perfect man had to be sacrificed for the restoration to God of all mankind, for evil had penetrated the hearts of men and women.  Nothing could wipe away this eternal stain of rebellion to God’s authority other than a payment of perfection for imperfection.  Jesus came to pay that price.  He was the Lamb of God, sacrificed as a ransom price to deliver mankind out of the pit of slavery to the devil.  To illustrate this remarkable deliverance from slavery to Satan and his demons, God pushed the Israelites into slavery in Egypt.  He told Abraham, the man of faith in God’s goodness and faithfulness, that his descendants would experience slavery.  In Egypt the Israelites were slaves under the power of Pharaoh, Beelzebul, the prince of demons.  God used the death of lambs to deliver the Israelites out of the hands of Pharaoh.  The blood of the lambs sprayed over the front doorposts of the Israelites' houses paid the ransom price for the deliverance of those in the household.  The lambs' blood announced that slavery was ended; it is finished.  The Israelites were free of the yoke of slavery to Pharaoh.  THE LAMB OF GOD slain for the sins of mankind made freedom possible for all men and women who would put their trust in Jesus’ work on the cross.  Jesus said, “ It is finished!"  The design of God for the deliverance of mankind from slavery to sin was completely implemented.  Isaiah expressed this design well in chapter 52 and 53.  He prophesied of Jesus’ coming to restore men and women to God. — (paraphrased with additions)  Many were amazed when they saw God’s servant.  He was highly exalted by God.  But his face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human.  From his appearance, you would scarcely know He was a man.  However, He startled many nations.  Kings stood speechless in his presence.  They saw what they had not been told. --- My servant grew up in God’s presence like a tender green shoot, (in Joseph and Mary’s house).  He grew up healthy and strong, filled with wisdom, with God’s favor on him.   He was a root in dry ground, with freedom to grow in the knowledge about his Father, God.  His appearance was ordinary--nothing beautiful or majestic about him.  Nothing in his appearance caused people to be attracted to him.  (Only John the Baptist recognized who he really was and he needed a sign to alert him about this man Jesus, for Jesus was just an ordinary man in the midst of the crowd.)  (Later on Paul needs a dramatic event to recognize Jesus as at the Messiah.)  Jesus was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with the deepest grief.  He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.  Like one from whom people hide their faces.  He was despised, and we held him in low esteem.  He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.  (Isaiah 53:3-5)  Like one from whom people hidetheir faces, he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.  He was despised and the world did not care that he was rejected by them.  Yet it was our weaknesses he carried, our sorrows weighted him down.  He wept over his people as he entered Jerusalem in his last days on earth.  He wept over their impending sorrow when Jerusalem would be ravished by the Roman army. He cried at Lazarus’ tomb, knowing the futility of humans and their finite lives.  We thought Jesus’ troubles were a punishment from God because of his own sins!  However, He was pierced for our sins of rebellion.  He was beaten for our sins, so we could go unpunished by God for our rebellion against him and his authority.  He took our punishment so that we could go without punishment.  He was crushed by God as a replacement for our wicked deeds.  He was whipped, so we could be healed; his back was lacerated for our healing.  Through Jesus’ suffering, God healed us of ALL our sins without us experiencing punishment for our own sins.  He took our place at the end of the whip.  All deserved the woodshed of discipline for all have all gone astray from God’s holiness.  But the woodshed was made for Christ and not for us—He alone experienced the place of judgment, the cross.  He became cursed because of our sins.  The Lord laid on Jesus the sins of all mankind; ill-treated for us, ridiculed for us, manhandled for us.  He as the Lamb of God would be slaughtered.  Even though Jesus knew He would be slaughtered, He did not defend his right to be left alone. Unjustly condemned He was led to the cross.  No one cared that He would die young without descendants to carry on his name.  He would disappear as if He never lived.  His footprint in life would be carried away by the sands of the time.  In midstream in his life, Jesus would be taken to the grave.  He had done no wrong.  He never deceived anyone.  No guile was in him, but He died as a criminal.   

It was God’s plan to crush him for the salvation of mankind.  God desired to cause him immense grief, even though He did no wrong, only good. The Son of Man was the perfect sacrifice to pay for the sins of a wayward people.  Only a perfect human could transition the imperfect to wholeness in God’s sight.  Because of his sacrifice for the sins of many, He will have MANY descendants with his name written on them.  In the heavenly domain Jesus will enjoy the presence of his brothers and sisters who were bought by his blood, the LAMB OF GOD.  The Galatians were retreating from this blessed message of the Good News.  Paul understood well how much danger they were putting themselves in if they failed to trust in the work of God that was planned from the beginning of time.  I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all.  Jesus is the beginning and the end.  He is the wordof God and in him everything was created.  The plan of God revolved completely about Jesus as the Lamb of God.  Salvation comes only through him; restoration to God comes only through him.  Our breakfast companions seek Jesus alone for your peace and comfort in life.  He alone will lead you out of your discomforts in life into God’ peace.  The world is dark and very difficult to understand.  All societies on earth use a variety of means to find peace and meaning in life.  They use special techniques and exercises to find peace.  They try to meditate deeply on good things, so they might find a few minutes of rest for their souls.  And many in every society try to solve their anxiety and their fears by drugs of all kinds, of spirits of all kinds.  All of these methods to understand and cope with the issues of life are tried by many in every society.  But as Paul starts out in this letter to the Galatians, peace starts and ends in the grace of GOD. Your works, your thinking, your ways to cope will not bring what you desire, peace with God and peace with your fellow man.  Only God can give you that through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  Jesus said, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.   (John 14:27) Therefore, turn your life and heart over to God.  You will know as Jesus said, IT IS FINISHED.  The work for eternal life with God is finished.  Now what is left for each of us is to believe in his work and not our own.  Love, Dad and Mom           

Mini were made and they couldn't understand what was being written so God gave them up for his own purposesMini were made and they couldn't understand what was being written so God gave them up for his own purposes 

1 Corinthians 16:1-24 Stand Firm!

1 Corinthians 16:1-24  Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do.  On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.  Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem.  If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.  After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you—for I will be going through Macedonia.  Perhaps I will stay with you for a while, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go.  For I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits.  But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me. When Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am.  No one, then, should treat him with contempt.  Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me.  I am expecting him along with the brothers.  Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers.  He was quite unwilling to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity.  Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.  Do everything in love.  You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people.  I urge you, brothers and sisters, to submit to such people and to everyone who joins in the work and labors at it.  I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you.  For they refreshed my spirit and yours also.  Such men deserve recognition.  The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings.  Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.  All the brothers and sisters here send you greetings.  Greet one another with a holy kiss.  I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed!   Come, Lord!  The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.  My love to all of you in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

In the above focus, we see Paul reminding the Corinth Christians to carry out their promise to help the struggling church in Jerusalem.  The believers in Jerusalem were experiencing a famine because of a drought in their area.  In Paul’s ministry giving to the poor was always an integral part of the Good News.  The church elders in Jerusalem reminded Paul that giving to the poor and disadvantaged should accompany his ministry.  All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.  (Galatians 2:10)  Of course Jesus stressed giving to the poor when talking to a young man who wanted to be one of his followers.  Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me.”   (Matthew 19:21)  Giving to the disadvantaged in the church or the community should be a vital part of the church’s ministry.  In the Old Testament this theme of giving to the disadvantaged, the poor, the widowed, and the orphans was often a part of prophecies given by holy men to the Israelites.  Their failure to heed their prophets’ words of caring for the vulnerable often caused God to bring horrible judgment upon them.  John the Baptist was very harsh with the Jews about their self-indulgent nature.  He called the crowd vipers and warned them of the coming judgment of God.  The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.  “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.  John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”  (Luke 3:9-11)  The early believers in following Christ, organized their church around caring for the poor and disadvantaged.  All the believers were one in heart and mind.  No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.  With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.  And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them.  (Acts 4:32-34)  Commensurate to the church’s ministry of the resurrection was their focus on the poor and disadvantaged in their community of believers.  Paul establishes this idea about the necessity of giving to the poor by asking the churches he founded to give to the poor in Jerusalem.  Paul is writing to a church that is quite self-indulgent and fleshly to give to others who they do not even know.  In everything, many of the Corinthians fought Paul’s leadership.  Because of this rigid partisan nature of theirs, he was afraid they might not receive Timothy well when he enters their community to teach.  When Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am.  No one, then, should treat him with contempt.  Paul understands well the Corinthians' squabbling over leadership issues; he has felt their barbs many times about his own leadership rights with them.  Therefore, he concludes his statement about Timothy by saying, Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me.  Maybe we might say, in one piece.

Probably cardinal in Paul’s concluding remarks in this letter to the Corinthians is Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.  Do everything in love.  Paul clearly understands the believers in Corinth.  He spent almost two years with them on his second missionary trip and later he will spend a few more months with them on his third missionary trip.  His love for them is great, but they are a troubled church with many fleshly and self-indulgent people within their midst.  Their church gatherings were rather chaotic, lacking the self-control and patience that is needed when many people are gathered together in worship.  Paul tells them that Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.  (1 Corinthians 14:40)  He instructed them on how to conduct an orderly worship service.  Their fleshly desire to be important and heard caused them to put themselves forward before others in the assembly.  Their attitude of their own self-importance bothered Paul, for it did not reflect the servanthood necessary in following Christ.  Jesus said a true servant of the Master does what he is told without highlighting his own needs of recognition.  When you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’  (Luke 17:10)  We might assume that the squabbling and chaos in the Corinthian church was due to a spirit of putting their needs before others.  Such an attitude is lethal to the welfare and longevity of any church. Therefore, Paul tells them to Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.  Do everything in love.  The deceitfulness of the flesh within a community of believers can destroy the unity within a church.  The devil is alway present in any community, trying to gain a foothold to destroy the work of God. Consequently, to combat this intrusive nature of the devil, Christians should seek to display richly the fruit of the Spirit.  The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  (Galatians 5:21-22)  Fighting and disorder within the church is the opposite of the Spirit’s nature.  Paul tells the Corinthian believers to do everything in love.  The opposite of God’s spirit leads to death.  The writer of Hebrews says, See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.  But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.  We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.  As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart.  (Hebrews 3:12-15)  A fleshly, self-indulgent attitude will harden the hearts.Paul often had to be very harsh with the Corinthian believers because they were too tolerate of sin in their midst.

Paul admonishes the Corinthian believers to be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.  They have to be on guard of spirits and actions that are not conducive to a healthy church: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.  (Galatians 5:19-21) These spirits tolerated within the church are destructive; they tear apart the fabric of the church which is unity.  Paul in his letters to the Corinthians addressed many of these aberrant ideas and actions within the Corinth church.  Paul loves these Corinth Christians; they are a testimony to his missionary effort.  He desires that they will survive in a Gentile world in a vigorous and powerful way.  They are the face of Christ, a light in a dark world of heathenism.   In the Old Testament Joshua brought the Israelites into Canaan, people of the law, a light within a dark world of idol worshippers.  He tells the Israelites, Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  (Joshua 1:9). The Israelites had many enemies in Canaan, but they were not to back down, but to go in faith, expressing the power of a holy God.  In Corinth, the name of Jesus invaded the land of the Greeks.  Jesus had freed the believers from the control and power of the devil.  Jesus was the gate to eternal life.  He came in the flesh to ransom many from their slavery to the devil.  Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.  (Hebrews 2:14-15)  Paul wanted a healthy church to abide in Corinth.  He wanted to free many Greeks from the author of sin and death.  Paul understood well that the Corinthians must operate in love, the love for God and the love for their neighbor.  To really love God, people must submit to his control, his purposes for their lives.  And to really know God, people must love their neighbor as themselves.  Freedom from sin and death comes through God, who is love.  Jesus expressed well God’s love by giving himself as a sacrifice for the sins of all people, freeing them from the Prince of the air: the controller of the flesh, the devil.  Friends around this breakfast table, we are the product of God’s love; we possess eternal life within us.  The Corinthian church was the product of God’s love.  We should always be cognizant that we have an enemy who desires to destroy us, the devil.  He desires death for us not life.  We end our time in 1 Corinthians with the same admonition to you as Paul declared to the Corinthians.  The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.  Our love to all of you in Christ Jesus.  Amen.