Today, Paul completes his letter to the Galatians with some thoughts that raise an interesting question.
Galatians 6
11 Notice what large letters I use as I write these closing words in my own handwriting. 12 Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. 13 And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples. 14 As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. 15 It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. 16 May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God. 17 From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus. 18 Dear brothers and sisters, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Interest. I love where Paul writes, “…my interest in this world has been crucified”. Most people are familiar with the definition of crucified … the idea of putting someone to death by nailing them to a cross. Did you know that it also means “to destroy the power of”? For Paul, what Jesus did on the cross had destroyed the power of his interest in this world. What interests you in this world? Money? Power? Popularity? Family? Success? Control? Health? More importantly, what power do those interests have over you? Are they the driving force of your life? Do they consume your thoughts? Your time? Your energy? I guess the real question is what difference the cross of Jesus has really made in your life. Are you pretty much the same person that encountered “that cross”? Same goals? Same desires? Same passions? Same interests? Or have you truly been “transformed into a new creation”? That’s an interesting question.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Help
This week, we are finishing Paul’s letter to Jesus followers in Galatia. Today, Paul talks about a responsibility we all share.
Galatians 6
Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. 4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct. 6 Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them. 7 Don’t be misled - you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone - especially to those in the family of faith.
Help. At the end of each letter, Paul usually includes some advice that really needs no other insight or explanation; but I’m going to offer some anyway. Part of our responsibility as Jesus followers is to help. We need to help people who are struggling. We need to help people who have helped us. We need to focus on doing our very best when we help and not worry about the help anyone else is offering. We need to help people that follow Jesus and people that don’t follow Jesus. We need to help ... did any of that help?
Galatians 6
Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. 4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct. 6 Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them. 7 Don’t be misled - you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone - especially to those in the family of faith.
Help. At the end of each letter, Paul usually includes some advice that really needs no other insight or explanation; but I’m going to offer some anyway. Part of our responsibility as Jesus followers is to help. We need to help people who are struggling. We need to help people who have helped us. We need to focus on doing our very best when we help and not worry about the help anyone else is offering. We need to help people that follow Jesus and people that don’t follow Jesus. We need to help ... did any of that help?
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Produces
This week, we are finishing Paul’s letter to Jesus followers in Galatia. Today, Paul provides a clear picture of who’s in charge.
Galatians 5
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. 19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
Produces. I sometimes think we get more caught up in the questions of who God wants me to marry and what God wants me to do for a living and where God wants me to live ... when Jesus seemed to be more concerned with what our heart was producing (check out Luke 6:43-45). This passage provides a pretty clear picture of what our heart can produce ... it’s just a matter of who is in charge of production ... me or him. When I am in charge, I struggle with lust and anger and envy and jealousy. When God is in charge, I experience and (as we talked about yesterday) express love and peace and patience and self-control. What is your heart producing? If you don’t know, ask a trusted friend (or two) if they see more love or more lust, more peace or more anger, more patience or more envy, more self-control or more jealousy, more of God or more of you. If your poll numbers lean more to your side than God’s, maybe it is time for a change.
Galatians 5
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. 19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
Produces. I sometimes think we get more caught up in the questions of who God wants me to marry and what God wants me to do for a living and where God wants me to live ... when Jesus seemed to be more concerned with what our heart was producing (check out Luke 6:43-45). This passage provides a pretty clear picture of what our heart can produce ... it’s just a matter of who is in charge of production ... me or him. When I am in charge, I struggle with lust and anger and envy and jealousy. When God is in charge, I experience and (as we talked about yesterday) express love and peace and patience and self-control. What is your heart producing? If you don’t know, ask a trusted friend (or two) if they see more love or more lust, more peace or more anger, more patience or more envy, more self-control or more jealousy, more of God or more of you. If your poll numbers lean more to your side than God’s, maybe it is time for a change.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Expressing
This week, we are finishing Paul’s letter to Jesus followers in Galatia. Today, Paul questions the byproduct of our faith.
Galatians 5
1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. 2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. 4 For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. 5 But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. 6 For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love. 7 You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? 8 It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. 9 This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! 10 I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you. 11 Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised - as some say I do - why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended. 12 I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves. 13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
Expressing. What is my faith “expressing”? That is the word (question) I couldn’t squirm away from as I read this passage. Is my faith expressing (communicating) hope or opinions or judgment or peace or hate or anything at all? My prayer is that it is expressing more hope than fear, more truth than opinions, more grace than judgment, more peace than conflict, more love than hate and more passion than apathy. If you are struggling to figure out what your faith is expressing, try taking Paul’s advice and “serve one another in love” ... that should help clear things up.
Galatians 5
1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. 2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. 4 For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. 5 But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. 6 For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love. 7 You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? 8 It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. 9 This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! 10 I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you. 11 Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised - as some say I do - why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended. 12 I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves. 13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
Expressing. What is my faith “expressing”? That is the word (question) I couldn’t squirm away from as I read this passage. Is my faith expressing (communicating) hope or opinions or judgment or peace or hate or anything at all? My prayer is that it is expressing more hope than fear, more truth than opinions, more grace than judgment, more peace than conflict, more love than hate and more passion than apathy. If you are struggling to figure out what your faith is expressing, try taking Paul’s advice and “serve one another in love” ... that should help clear things up.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Fulfillment
This week, we are going to finish Paul’s letter to Jesus followers in what was the Roman province of Galatia. Today, Paul provides a great illustration for his original audience and a great reminder for every audience since then.
Galatians 4
21 Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says? 22 The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. 23 The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise. 24 These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them. 25 And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law. 26 But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother. 27 As Isaiah said, “Rejoice, O childless woman, you who have never given birth! Break into a joyful shout, you who have never been in labor! For the desolate woman now has more children than the woman who lives with her husband!” 28 And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac. 29 But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit. 30 But what do the Scriptures say about that? “Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” 31 So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman.
Fulfillment. The word that really stood out to me was “fulfillment”. Paul was using part of Abraham’s story to illustrate his point about faith surpassing the law (if you are new to this part of the story and the point Paul is trying to make, check out Righteous and Rescued); but I was drawn to God’s fulfillment of his promises. For Abraham, God promised to make him the father of a great nation (check out Genesis 12:2) through a son (check out Genesis 15:4-5). When Abraham and his wife (Sarah) didn’t think God was capable of fulfilling his promise or didn’t think God was fulfilling it fast enough; they decided to circumvent God (check out Genesis 16:1-3). It was a decision that would lead to a lot of conflict (check out Genesis 16:4-6 and Genesis 16:11-12); but ultimately, it wouldn’t prevent God from fulfilling his promise through his plan and in his timing (check out Genesis 21:1-3). God even gave Abraham a second chance to demonstrate his faith in God to fulfill his promises (check out Genesis 22:1-18). I can’t tell you how many times I have tried to force God’s hand when it came to his plan for my life. Thank God his fulfillment isn’t based on my trust or my patience; but his grace.
Galatians 4
21 Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says? 22 The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. 23 The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise. 24 These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them. 25 And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law. 26 But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother. 27 As Isaiah said, “Rejoice, O childless woman, you who have never given birth! Break into a joyful shout, you who have never been in labor! For the desolate woman now has more children than the woman who lives with her husband!” 28 And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac. 29 But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit. 30 But what do the Scriptures say about that? “Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” 31 So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman.
Fulfillment. The word that really stood out to me was “fulfillment”. Paul was using part of Abraham’s story to illustrate his point about faith surpassing the law (if you are new to this part of the story and the point Paul is trying to make, check out Righteous and Rescued); but I was drawn to God’s fulfillment of his promises. For Abraham, God promised to make him the father of a great nation (check out Genesis 12:2) through a son (check out Genesis 15:4-5). When Abraham and his wife (Sarah) didn’t think God was capable of fulfilling his promise or didn’t think God was fulfilling it fast enough; they decided to circumvent God (check out Genesis 16:1-3). It was a decision that would lead to a lot of conflict (check out Genesis 16:4-6 and Genesis 16:11-12); but ultimately, it wouldn’t prevent God from fulfilling his promise through his plan and in his timing (check out Genesis 21:1-3). God even gave Abraham a second chance to demonstrate his faith in God to fulfill his promises (check out Genesis 22:1-18). I can’t tell you how many times I have tried to force God’s hand when it came to his plan for my life. Thank God his fulfillment isn’t based on my trust or my patience; but his grace.
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