“Trust the Spirit, the Promise in Truth”

Scripture: Galatians 3:1-14

The churches in Galatia had been suffering from an age old malady that continued to hobble the people throughout the centuries and into the present age. It had been one of my own personal favorites for many years, and one that limited me in faith during all that time. It is most easily defined by the words “I can do it all by myself, thank you very much!”
The world would say that personal independence is strength, but Paul would have us know differently – he would call it weakness, and it is the very thing that prevents the people of earth from giving their lives to the Lord, and it is the same attitude that limits the growth in faith that the Church seems to be experiencing today. It is society’s cry to the masses – “Even if there is a God, you don’t need religion – be strong, take your own stand, be who you are and not who the church thinks you should be!!”
It’s nothing less than an all consuming and fatal mistake that will condemn anyone who believes it. That is why Paul was so intentional in writing this letter to the 1st century Church, and it is why the Church of 2013 must also read this warning with their eyes and ears and hearts wide open.

Read Galatians 3:1-5

“You fool!” Most of us hear that expression all the time. It means that we have made a decision that someone else doesn’t care much for. It’s not so much a condemnation as it is an expression of disagreement. The implication is that we are less than intelligent.
But less intelligent by what standard? The truth is that the comment is based on beliefs of the person who has declared our act to be foolish, an arbitrary standard at best. There is no universal truth in the declaration, only a personal attitude, an opinion.

But Paul’s declaration that the Galatians were foolish had a much greater ring of truth within it; it was far more than a simple disagreement in principle; it was a truth that was grounded in scripture:

Psalm 53:1 – “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.”
Proverbs 10:14 – “Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.”
Proverbs 14:7 – “Stay away from a foolish man, for you will not find knowledge on his lips”
Matthew 7:26 – (Jesus’ words) “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.”

And I found about 150 more references to the foolish person, many of them in Psalms and Proverbs, so this list could have gone on for quite some time. The bottom line is that calling someone foolish is not a compliment, and it is not a joke, and has nothing to do with a disagreement between two people!
A fool is one who denies God. A fool has no wisdom. A fool will always do his own will and will never seek God’s. This is what Paul is comparing the people to when he pronounced “You foolish Galatians!”

He reminds them that they have heard the word of God; that they have heard, with their own ears, that Jesus died for them; that by grace they have been saved; and yet they ignore the teaching and by their own decision, their own actions, they will be condemned. Where has their faith gone? Why have they turned away from the Lord’s mercy? Why do they think that they can do so much better all on their own, and why is the Christ’s gift so despised? Paul is furious that they are putting so little store in God’s endowment, and so much in their own abilities. He accuses them of beginning in the Spirit, but continuing in the flesh.

In 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, he wrote about the gifts of the Spirit. He said “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.” And the people of Galatia were living as though they could attain a perfect existence all on their own!
Certainly, Scripture does talk about becoming perfect, and even John Wesley made the comment that we are “going on to perfection”, but none of these references are about becoming perfect in the body – it means that we are to strive to become perfect in faith, not in our actions, because our actions are governed by the law, and our faith by the Spirit. And neither the Galatians nor anyone else can ever live life perfect in law.
They were going to fail.

Read Galatians 3:6-9

And Paul asks the question “Is righteousness received by faith or the law”? “Will the Gentiles be justified in God’s eyes by faith or by their own good works?” There are many in Israel’s history that would never have been blessed if it depended on their own goodness! Abraham, David, Sampson, Daniel, not to mention Peter and Paul. If the chosen people of Israel needed grace, how much more would the Gentiles need it if they were to inherit the blessings of Abraham?
God had made a promise - to Abraham and all the earth - “I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.” (Genesis 22:17), and “This is my covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations.” (Genesis 17:4) – not a singular mighty nation, but nations, plural. Abraham hadn’t earned this distinction, and he wouldn’t even benefit from the covenant – by his righteousness, he would be the blessing for countless others. And he trusted the word of God that had been given to him.

Abraham put his trust in God. Galatia needed to trust in God. We have to trust in God. Not in our selves, not in Abraham, not in the disciples, not in the saints, but in the Lord alone. We listen and we learn from the witness of those who came before and we learn that the power of the Spirit has been leading and nudging and nurturing people ever since the days of creation. And the Spirit continues to lead and guide today. But do we follow?

Read Galatians 3:10-14

Now we read that not only can’t the law do us any good, but that if we look to the law as a means to righteousness, we will be cursed! The law can’t do a single thing for us except condemn us through our inability to live it. And people still think they can be “good enough”?

The prophet Ezekiel wrote (Ezekiel 33:13) said “If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but then he trusts in his own righteousness and does evil, none of the righteous things he has done will be remembered”. We can never be perfect in the law, we can never be good enough, we can never be justified in our own goodness, and we can never escape the curse that has been placed on us. It’s true that the law provides for forgiveness through sacrifice, but the sacrifice of cattle and birds must become a continuous thing – it never ends - and we can never be sure that we have sacrificed enough. True and complete righteousness can only come by faith in the One who redeemed us through his one and only sacrifice. Jesus Christ, God in the Flesh, went to Calvary, to take on the curse, the condemnation, that was rightly ours, and he took that curse to the grave and left it there.

So what are we going to do about it – this “promise of the Spirit”? To paraphrase Paul’s question to Galatia, “Do you receive your identity from the law, or from the Spirit of God?” If we truly seek to identify ourselves with Christ, then the exchange that Jesus offers – his righteousness for our sinfulness – is made. It is Jesus who frees us from our slavery, it is Jesus who is our way from this life into the next, it is Jesus who is the reconciling image of God for our lives, and it is the Spirit of Almighty God who leads us, and encourages us, and enables us, and changes us, and blesses us, with all of the gifts of God.

It has been promised, it has been guaranteed, and the Spirit of the Living Lord points the way for us. Receive the Spirit; Receive Christ; Receive the blessing of the Father. It can never get any better or any easier or any more truthful than that!

“Living in Faith, Crucified in Joy”

Scripture: Galatians 2:15-21

We had a great time in Washington State last week, visiting with our son and his family. We discovered that our 9 year old granddaughter has developed an incredible relationship with her new 7 month old brother, and that he cares deeply for her. And even though their parents are thrilled that the children get along so well, I am equally certain that they never set up any household rule requiring it. Relationships can never be legislated, no matter what our governments may try to tell us – they can only come to be through desire and commitment, which then leads to a deep and abiding bond.
Children seem to inherently know this – why can’t adults see it? And the church seems to struggle with this concept as much as the worldly do. It never gets any better! In my two previous messages on the book of Galatians, we saw how Paul was trying to instill in the church this very thing – that every relationship, especially one with the Lord, can never be developed by following the law – it can only come about through a loving commitment.
Even the church of 2013 can easily fall into the trap of legalism. We try to convince others of our way of thinking through resolutions and laws and dictates, and even if the change succeeds by majority vote, there has never been any proof that it makes much of a difference in the lives of the voters. The only way that righteous change can ever come about in the lives of humanity is by a heart change - and never by a head change.

Today, we continue to follow Paul’s efforts to bring about a “heart change” in the life of the Galatian churches.

Read Galatians 2:15-16

Paul is relating a conversation that he had with Peter in Antioch (Galatians 2:11-14). He was calling Peter to task for requiring that certain Jewish ritualistic laws continue to be observed by the Gentile converts. Today’s text is probably a continuation of that conversation, although there is some dispute as to whether it is part of the original conversation, or if it is a return to Paul’s instruction for Galatia. Regardless, the point is still sound – that justification in God’s eyes can never be obtained by following the law - by being “good” - by “earning” our holiness. It must be by faith in the One who redeemed us – Ephesians 2:8 – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast”

Paul is reminding Peter, as well as the Church in Galatia, and beyond, that all – Jew and Gentile alike – must turn to Christ for salvation. And the Church of the 21st century, and beyond, also needs to be reminded that salvation can only come to those who express and live a faith in Christ Jesus. And that is an important distinction! We can’t simply claim Christ with our words! Our faith must exhibit a true and complete change in the way we live in this life.
That’s what Jesus was telling the rich ruler in Luke 18:18-30 who asked what he must do to be saved. He knew all the commandments, and he told the Lord that he had kept them all. But Jesus tells him that as well as he may have done, it wasn’t enough. He was to sell everything that he owned and give the money to the poor. The man obeyed the law, but he loved his lifestyle and all the benefits that his wealth could bring him, and Jesus was telling him that he needed to make a change in his life – he was telling the man that he needed to make a change in the things he loved. Jesus tells us “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”
Jesus is not telling us that the law is no good, but rather that it isn’t enough – we also need him! There is no justification, no salvation, unless we welcome Jesus in our life.

Read Galatians 2:17-21

The essence of the question that Paul had presented to Peter, and had in turn presented to the Galatians, was this: Are the Gentiles to become like the Jews, or are the Jews to become like the Gentiles? It’s actually a trick question – the answer is “Neither!” We are all to become like Christ. Later in this letter, Paul would write that there is no longer Jew or Greek – that we are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28) Sin is no longer a pronouncement on only a few – we are all guilty! And sin is not God’s problem – it is ours! He didn’t create it, but we certainly embrace it! He doesn’t condone it, but we try to justify it all the time.

Now a personal reflection on a rather strange sentence – “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.” Commentaries weren’t a lot of help in this passage, so here is what I think Paul is saying. He was zealous, by his own words (Acts 22:1-5), when it came to Jewish law, and he would come to realize that it did him no good. And because of his strict adherence to law, he would “die” to it when he came face to face with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-22). The law itself was the instrument of Paul’s death to the law. It was in his living the law to the extreme that forced him to Christ, and he “died to the law so that (he) might live for God.”
Now if this doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense for you, that’s OK. The point that I’m trying to make is that Paul is offering his personal witness to the Galatian church, and whether the thought was originally presented to Peter or to Galatia, he was telling them that the law held no good for him, that it holds no good for them, and that death by and to the law is the only way out.

And in that context of death bringing about a new life, Paul offers that often quoted verse “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Jesus had been crucified because of the law, and Paul proclaims, through the centuries and to the world, that he has let the “old life” die with Jesus on Calvary. There is no salvation in our goodness – only in the goodness of Jesus Christ.

Not that the world believes that, though. Years ago, Diane and I were Sunday School teachers for a group of Junior High students. One day, one of the girls brought in a survey that had begun to circulate at school, with the question “If we are real good, will we go to heaven?” Two of her teachers had written “Yes”. This has always been the world’s answer, and even Peter apparently felt that at least a token allegiance to the law was important. For Israel, the law held the key as to what made us clean (righteous), and what made us unclean (sinful). But for Christianity, we are, by nature, unclean, and it is only Christ who can make us clean again.
Back to the student’s survey - I asked her if I could respond, too, and when she said I could, I wrote “No”, and included a short explanation that our goodness means nothing when it comes to salvation in Jesus Christ. I never heard back on the results of the survey, but I sincerely hope that someone read my comment and took it to heart.

How about you? Is anyone still basing their hopes on their own good works? Are you still expecting the Lord to say “You’re doing a great job – come on in.” Society and business and all of those “Self Help” books tell us to take charge of our life, to work hard, to do good, and that will be enough to make us worthy of respect.
Even John Wesley threw “good works” into the mix with his famous “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” The difference is that Wesley never said that this was sufficient! He felt that this was simply our necessary response to Christ’s gift, not that it could ever supersede it!

How about you? Do you still think that salvation, the glory of heaven, the grace of Almighty God, can be gained by our own means? The truth is that we can’t even gain the respect of earth, let alone the glory of heaven! And just in case you think that living a life in Christ is difficult and painful, it is far better than a life without him. Crucified to the temporary ways of the world, living in Christ for eternity – it’s the only way!

Remember Paul’s words in verse 21 – “if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” But he did not die for nothing – he died for you and me, that we might live eternally with him in glory. Come to him today.

“From Then Until Now”

Scripture: Galatians 1:11-24

Last week, we began to read the letter that Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia. They had been swayed by some false teaching, and Paul felt the need to draw them back. He told them “some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1:7)
But that’s the entire purpose of false teaching, isn’t it? To introduce some new concept into the Christian faith, for whatever reason, that has never been part of Christian thought before. They are based either in societal norms, or in some other faith expression, but they have little to do with Christianity. But the problem is which of the lessons do we believe? How do we know which one can be trusted?
That’s the quandary that pursues us throughout our lives. Whether it is in high school, or college, or organizations, or our jobs, or the church – we will always be exposed to diverse thought, with some of it being true and some of it not. When we are relatively new to a school subject or an organization or in faith, we don’t always know who and what to believe, and while we usually trust the instructor / teacher / professor / preacher, and believe the things they teach, we have no real basis for trusting or not trusting. We have to get to know the leader, we have to know if we can trust the teacher.

Paul would have to gain the trust of Galatia, and would have to remind them of just who he is and how he came to Christ.

Read Galatians 1:11-17

Paul spells out, in very clear terms, the source of his authority and his call into ministry. At first glance, he is doing this solely to establish the difference between his teaching and that of the false teachers. He states that the gospel that he has been sharing with them was never created by human minds, but that it came directly from Christ Himself. The implication is, of course, that these other teachers cannot claim this authority – and that their gospel is a creation of men, and is not from God.
Quite a difference, don’t you think? But it also raises a very controversial thought – it insinuates that the law, which is apparently the basis for the other teaching, is not of God. Jesus Himself overturned certain aspects of the law, issues such as what is clean and what is unclean (Matthew 15:1-14), who is worthy and who is not (Luke 18:9-14), what is legitimate activity on the Sabbath (Luke 14:1-6), and there were many other matters of ritual and custom that Jesus challenged.
There were also some laws that he strengthened, such as that regarding divorce (Matthew 19:1-12), he affirmed many others that dealt with issues of relationship and morality (Matthew 15:16-20), and he changed the entire approach to, and understanding of, salvation (Mark 10:17-31).
I don’t think that Paul was telling the people that they could disregard any law that they wanted to, but rather that they were obligated to God’s laws, and not to those which came from human minds and wills.

And then, just to deal with any accusations that others may have brought against him, he relates, in a very broad way, the life he lived before Jesus, and how he was changed after he finally met the Lord. “You have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism”. Paul was a zealot, a fanatic, when it came to observance of the law. In Philippians 3:4-7, Paul confesses his pride and zealotry. In his love for the law, he began attacking the supposedly heretical church, and he readily admits that his righteousness was only legalistic and not a matter of faith. Paul was traditional and dedicated in his brand of Judaism, and it extended into every aspect, every nook and cranny, of his life.
And it gained him absolutely nothing.

Paul then proceeds to tell them about his conversion from Judaic legalism into Christ-centered discipleship. But, interesting enough, he never mentions his Damascus Road experience, he never mentions the fact that Jesus came to him specifically, he never mentions the blindness that struck him and never mentions the miraculous healing he received. He only tells what God had done for him and with him and through him, and not the things that happened to him.
I think that the reason he does this is so the emphasis is taken totally away from him, and is placed squarely on the glory of the Lord. He could easily become prideful if he began talking about himself, so he doesn’t. It was about God’s plan, God’s grace, and it was the Father’s desire that he would come to put his whole trust in the Son. He never sought the guidance or instruction of the disciples – of other men – he simply did what the Lord called him to do. Let the others minister to the Jews – for him, he would focus his ministry on the Gentiles – the very people he had hated because of the law, and on the gospel of Jesus Christ, which he had tried so hard to wipe from the face of the earth.
Had Paul changed radically? You had better believe that he did!

There’s a story that in South Carolina some years ago, the Greenville County Department of Social Services sent this letter to one Philip Fleming:
“Your food stamps will be stopped effective March [of this year], because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances.”
-As quoted in Health, January-February 1993, 56.

The point is that if there is no change in our circumstances, then we are still dead.

Read Galatians 1:18-24

The point of Paul’s letter isn’t to convince the people that he is faithful, or that he is a messenger of God, or that they should concentrate on being as righteous as he is, or anything else, for that matter, that is based in him. He is saying that the word of God is truth, and all other words are false. He is saying that the power of humanity is nothing when compared to that of the Lord. He is telling the people that if they don’t change their ways, if they don’t begin finding their way back to the heart and mind of Christ, if they don’t leave the ways of the world and their dependency on the law, they will be forfeiting the new life that they were receiving.

The people of Galatia trusted that the false teachers were offering the truth of God, when, in fact, they were offering their own version of truth. They were still rooted in the law of days gone by, and were refusing to make the transition to the word of God today. They thought that the law was of God, but they didn’t want to listen to one who had been called by the Law Giver to correct the misconception.

James A. Harnish (Hyde Park Church, Tampa, Florida) tells of the man who came home one day to find that his wife had hung a plaque on the wall which read, “Prayer changes things.”
Within 24 hours the plaque had been removed. She asked, “What's wrong? Don't you like prayer?” He replied, “Sure, I like prayer. I don't like change.”

Prayer changes us.
Prayer changes others.
Prayer changes [circumstances].
Prayer changes the church.
Prayer changes the world.
- Homeletics OnLine

There’s an old saying that says ”If you don’t want to hear the answer, you shouldn’t ask the question.” Prayer is the blessing that puts us squarely in the middle of God’s answer, regardless of what we think our question may be. For Paul, his life had become one of constant prayer, constant contact with the Lord Jesus, and one in which he received God’s answers moment by moment.

The previous story reminds us that through prayer, we will be changed. And through our example of submitting to God’s change, others can be changed, too. Paul saw that the people of Galatia were changing, but not for the better. And he was not about to let them continue on their downhill slide.
And that is our call, too. It is never easy or pleasant to tell someone that they have bought into a pack of lies, and many folks will go out of their way to avoid that task! And in our desire to steer clear of any painful experiences, we, by default, condemn others to continue in their deceit. I’m sure that we all know of someone who is entangled in the lies of false teaching, and each of us may be their only hope for the truth.
Begin with prayer. Then seek the Lord’s answer to the situation. And only then, follow his lead and speak his word.

Intentional prayer changes us.
It changes others.
It changes conditions.
It changes the church.
It changes the world.
And it moves us from the lies of the past, and into the truth of God.

The Lord changed Paul, and it would change at least some of the Galatians. May he change each one of us, too.

“Straying from the Word”

Scripture: Galatians 1:1-12

During the month on May, we have been blessed by remembering the faithful actions of a few Godly Hebrews who were in exile. The trials came in many different ways and with many different faces. But through it all, these men of faith were not only blessed and saved and redeemed from the attacks, but the truth of their faith was not only raised up in glory by their God, but it was accepted as truth by the earthly kings.

These men never knew how God was going to work in their lives, and they didn’t even know if God would save them, but in faith, they never wavered from the knowledge that their God was the only true God, and that his power was infinite. And the miracles that came to them were so radical that the Babylonians and Persians came to show great respect, at least some did, to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Now that is evangelism at work!

Today, we move ahead some 600 years to the trials that came against the first century church. The Church was expanding and growing by leaps and bounds. Evangelists were fanning out from Jerusalem, and the word that Jesus Christ was the Living God was filling countless hearts. But as much as the true word was spreading throughout the world, there were other “false gospels” that were spreading nearly as fast.
Of course, there was no Bible that they could teach from or refer to, and there were few letters from the apostles and true disciples to share and learn from. There was a lot of evangelizing by word of mouth, and that wasn’t always as reliable as it should have been.

Read Galatians 1:1-5

The New Testament, with the exception of the four gospels, the book of Acts, and the Book of Revelation, is a collection of letters that the first evangelists wrote to churches that were being founded all across the landscape. Some are letters of encouragement, others are for correction, and a couple, such as Romans, are letters of introduction that contain a sampling of the gospel that will be coming to them in person very soon. Galatians is one of correction.

Remember that the early church was not an independent entity – it was a sect of Judaism. And some Jews weren’t quite ready to give up on many of the aspects of their historic faith – in particular, the understanding that was grounded in the complicated set of laws that they depended on so heavily. Laws that governed dietary requirements, laws governing the observance of Sabbath, and circumcision, and religious holidays, and the process for entry into the faith, and all the rest. They were having trouble letting go, and they believed that everyone else should hold on to the past, while just tacking Jesus on at the end.

So Paul writes this letter to let the churches know that there is a better way, and that is the way of Jesus. And so he begins his letter describing the basis for the letter – that it is not by his authority or that of any one else, but solely by that of God in Christ.
And he greets the people in the name of Christ, the one who surrendered to the world so that we might know victory, the one who glory rests upon and who glory comes from. It isn’t a letter that children might write – “Dear Church, I’m doing well, how are you? I hope you are well, too.” It’s much different - he begins to set the tone of the letter right from the start – that the things that are being written aren’t his ideas, aren’t his concerns, aren’t his corrections –they come, in truth, directly from the Lord Himself.
He also offers a thought on sin even before he begins to outline the reasons behind the letter – that Jesus gave himself up to evil, so that the people of Galatia, and all who believe, might be saved from evil. And then the specific purpose for the epistle is revealed.

Read Galatians 1:6-9

“Why are you turning away from the truth that we introduced you to, and toward the lies that others tell?” Paul offers no other words of grace to the Galatians – he jumps right into the meat of the issue – that they are straying from the faith. We can also infer from the words that faith in Christ hadn’t been part of their lives for very long. And he wants to know why the Way of Jesus is fading so quickly from their lives?

We get very few references to Galatia in the book of Acts (Acts 16:6-10; 18:23) and when we do, it seems that Paul and the others roamed throughout the region preaching the gospel, but, apparently, not spending much time beyond that. For many of the new churches, they would spend months and even years at a time with the people of an area, strengthening their faith, planting it well, and nurturing it into full blossom.
But Galatia may not have received such a solid introduction to Christ, that the leadership may not have been as grounded as they should have been, and when the false teachers came, the people weren’t ready to take them on. Each of Paul’s three journeys spent some time in the region of Galatia, the area that today is Southern Turkey, but it seems that his emphasis was more on the western areas of Turkey and up into Macedonia and Athens areas.

The churches weren’t strong enough to resist the incorrect teachings that others were bringing to the table. The New Interpreters’ Bible suggests that these false teachers may have had disagreements with Paul’s teaching that we read of in Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” The earliest churches still had many who hadn’t quite signed on to the concept of “salvation by grace through faith”, including the fact that salvation could never come through adherence to the law. Many still held to the belief, as an example, that anyone coming into Judaism must be circumcised, even though Paul taught otherwise.

And then the apostle takes his admonition to a whole new level – that if anyone preached a gospel that differed from the one that so many came to in Christ, that they would be condemned.

Author John W. Alexander writes:
Sin is the best news there is. Because with sin there's a way out. You can't repent of confusion or psychological flaws inflicted by your parents [or by anyone else, for that matter!] - you're stuck with them. But you can repent of sin. Sin and repentance are the only grounds for hope and joy, the grounds for reconciled, joyful relationships.
- John Alexander, quoted in Student Leadership Journal, Fall 2000, 23.

Paul told the church that others were trying to confuse them with false teaching, and that they were going to distort the gospel if this went on much longer. These words of Paul’s should make every Sunday School teacher, every Bible Study leader, every pastor and preacher extremely nervous! In James 3:1, Jesus’ brother writes “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” Maybe Paul’s use of the phrase “eternally condemned” is a bit harsh, but we know that if anyone convinces another, or others, of a false teaching, it is not only the sin of the teaching that must be answered for, but the teacher will also be held to account for the sin that comes from the incorrect teaching!
Not an especially pleasant thought, is it?!!

And there has always been a lot of this going around! Gnosticism, Mysticism, Universalism, Fundamentalism, and so many other “isms” that your head should be swimming! In my course on “Contemporary Theologies”, we considered the teachings of many modern thoughts. We took a look at those things in their teaching that were true, as well as those things that may not be true. For many, they have a ring of truth that is sufficient to lend a sense of validity to their understanding, but with most, the teaching will quickly fall to the full truth of scripture, and they will be revealed for what they are.
Many people buy into the teaching, and take it at face value - and they continue to do so today. They won’t do their own study to examine the scriptures – they simply accept the teaching that they receive as truth.

Read Galatians 1:10-12

When a teacher, and that includes preachers, tries to gain the endorsement of others, when they try to bring glory on themselves, when they want to hear the words “Well done, good and faithful servant” from their students, or their congregations, they will lose the authority that only Jesus can convey. Paul reminds the people that the gospel that they are now following was developed in the minds and hearts of humanity, and that the Lord will have nothing to do with it.

How do we know what is fully truth and what is not? Listen, Study, Read, Discuss, Listen and Ask. I submit myself to your examination, and if I introduce some thought that doesn’t quite ring true, if something doesn’t seem to match up with scripture, if something doesn’t make sense to you, study and read scripture to find the conflict, and then ask me to explain any apparent inconsistencies. Challenge me! If I have offered anything that isn’t true, anything that I can’t support with the word, I want to know what it is, and I want to correct it.

Straying from the word of God is not something that any of us can take lightly. And I believe that it is the responsibility of everyone in the Body of Christ to help others understand the truth of Christ. Paul took that responsibility very seriously, and he would not let the Galatians continue in ignorant thought.

I pray that each and every one of us will claim that responsibility, too, and keep each other from making the same mistakes that Galatia did.