Monthly Archives: October 2014

Glimpses Of Paul

Bible Study, , , ,

GLIMPSES OF PAUL

“I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong. As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you and, even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel from God, as if I were Jesus Christ Himself. Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?” Galatians 4:12-16.

A tiny glimpse behind the scenes! Paul does not tell us much about himself in his letters. However, it is in times like these, when he is contending for the very souls of his converts, that we catch glimpses of the heart of this man.

It seems that he visited the area in Asia Minor called Galatia during a bout of sickness. In those days there was no such thing as a diagnosis. Conditions were lumped together according to their symptoms. His illness may have affected his eyes, hence his reference to the compassion of these Galatian people who would have given him their eyes if they could.

But Paul did not allow illness to rob him of the opportunity to preach Jesus to a new group of people. He did not shut himself away and feel sorry for himself. He used every opportunity to give away the message of Jesus even if it was through painful and infected eyes. Perhaps his very vulnerability made the gospel even more appealing.

Here was a man who could have been at home, taking care the needs of his family instead of facing the rigors and dangers on the road and at sea, traversing the Empire to tell people about Jesus. They listened and responded to Paul’s message, grateful for a man who was willing to risk his life for people like them. They tenderly cared for him and nursed him back to health and rewarded his suffering by joining the empire-wide community of faith.

But now? What had happened to them that they were so easily swayed by a bunch of false teachers? Had Paul not grounded them in the truths of the gospel? Were they not securely enough anchored in their faith in Jesus? It must have been extremely difficult for these new converts to stand firm against the onslaught of wickedness and religious bigotry that would have surrounded them in their society.

They had no resources to feed on as we have today; no Bible on their bedside table or bookshelf; no theologically well-educated pastor to turn to; no Google search engine to find answers at the click of a mouse. It would have been easy for them to succumb to the persuasive arguments of these false teachers.

It was up to Paul, with his clear understanding of the gospel and his ability to explain it to his readers, to draw them back to the truth in the face of the barrage of lies they were subjected to from every quarter. Paul was wise. He set out, not only to explain the Scriptures to them but also to appeal to their experience to convince them that their faith in Jesus was not a fantasy. When he preached the gospel to them, what happened? They believed the message. And then what happened? They began to change from the inside.

The Holy Spirit in them brought joy and peace to their souls; He formed the love-bond of unity and fellowship they experienced; He did miracles through them and among them; the presence of Jesus was real among them. All their old beliefs and practices began to fall away as they embraced this new life in Jesus.

But now? Somehow their attitude to Paul had changed. Paul felt it and he grieved. What had been a beautiful relationship had turned sour. They were no longer warm and friendly towards him. The atmosphere had turned hostile. It was as though they had become his enemies. Is this what the truth does when people embrace lies – turns them against Jesus and His church?

How often it happens that a spiritual leader begins to move away from the truth of the Word and entices people to follow him instead of joining them to Jesus. They insist that they are the only ones who know the truth. They twist the message of Jesus and inject just enough lies to lure people away from grace. Families and friends are divided; there is suspicion and hostility where there was once unity because the Holy Spirit is no longer active to bear witness to Jesus.

Believers beware! Never trust a spiritual leader who entices people to follow him, and who insists that he is the only one who is right. Dangerous!

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Slaves To Religion

Bible Study, , ,

SLAVES TO RELIGION

“Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God – or rather are known by God – how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.” Galatians 4:8-11.

Religion is bondage! Two words sum up what religion produces – slavery and fear.

The Galatian believers were Gentiles who had come out of paganism into new life in Jesus Christ. They had tasted the forgiveness of sins and freedom from having to observe rules and rituals to appease their gods. They had learned that gods are Satan’s master plan to enslave people into worshipping him. When he rebelled against God and set up his rival rule, all he wanted was to be Lord, to be worshipped and to wrest control of people from God so that he could rule over them.

“…The sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.” 1 Corinthians 10:20.

He rules by fear. People slavishly follow the superstitions of religion because they are afraid of the consequences if they do not do everything in their power to satisfy the demands of their gods. Gods are the invention of human imagination and are cruel, ruthless and unpredictable, the very worst of human nature.

Before they came to know God through Jesus, God knew them. He set His love upon them and chose them from before the foundation of the world to be His sons and daughters (Ephesians1:4). He brought them into His family and set them free from the terrible demands of their religion to love Him and to love and serve His children.

Now they were going backwards – thinking that God, their Father, was putting the old yoke of slavery to rules back on them again. What did Paul mean by “You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!”? Were they becoming Jewish and observing all the seasons and feasts of the Old Testament just like the Jews did?

“It is evident that the “days, months, seasons and years” Paul refers to in verse 10 were pagan, idolatrous festivals and observances that the Gentile Galatians had observed before their conversion. They could not possibly be God’s holy days because these Gentiles had never observed them before being called, nor would Paul ever call them “weak and beggarly”. Rather, they were turning back to their old, heathen way of life that included keeping various superstitious holidays connected to the worship of pagan deities.

“Far from doing away with God’s holy days, these scriptures show that we should not be observing “days, months, seasons and years” that have their roots in paganism, such as Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and any other days that originated from the worship of pagan gods.” (www.bibletools.org).

Observance of Jewish religious holidays, which seems to be a trend in some parts of the church today, should never be regarded as a “must” since Jesus is the fulfilment of all these things which were only a picture until He came. Even Sabbath worship and food taboos, which are demanded of a certain group of Christian people, are a form of regression into legalism, since Jesus is our “Sabbath rest”.

“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” Colossians 2:16, 17.

Once again, Paul is adamant that anything that is added to the sufficiency of Jesus and His sacrifice for sin, disqualifies us from God’s grace. Once step backwards takes us out of mercy into slavery because we have to observe the whole law if we choose to forfeit grace.

This is unthinkable!

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

 

 

Sons And Heirs

Bible Study, ,

SONS AND HEIRS

“Because you are His sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child and, since you are His child, He has also made you an heir.” Galatians 4:6-7.

Imagine that! In Romans, Paul said, “Sons of God and co-heirs with Christ.”

Our past as slaves of sin has been wiped out. Now we are God’s beloved sons and daughters, born into His family through the Spirit of God just as Jesus was born into a human family by being fathered by the Holy Spirit. Not only have we been born of the Spirit but we are also indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

We wear God’s name, just as human children wear their father’s name. We belong to the family of God. We can never be “unborn”, no matter who we are or what we do. We have an inheritance because we are legitimate children and not slaves.

When do we receive our inheritance and what have we inherited?

We are not waiting to receive our inheritance at some time in the future. It is already ours because the testator (Jesus) has died.

“In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it because a will is only in force when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living.” Hebrews 9:17.

Our inheritance consists of two parts:

1. God appointed Jesus to be heir of all things, and we are co-heirs with Him.

“…In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son whom He appointed heir of all things and through whom He also made the universe.” Hebrews 1:2.

“Heir of all things.” What does that mean? Jesus Christ is the owner of everything He made. As co-heirs with Him, believers are also heirs of “all things”. All the resources of His creation are ours through Jesus.

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.” Psalm 24:1.

“He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:32.

Since God has made all His resources available to us in Christ, why are so many of us still poor, battling to make a living with a promise like that? For at least two reasons: we do not follow God’s instructions to access His resources (Matthew 6:33) and we do not receive when we ask because our motive for asking is selfish (James 4:2, 3).

2. The other part of our inheritance is even more amazing. We are heirs of all things but we are also heirs of God’s nature. Just as children inherit their father’s property when he dies, so we inherit the earth because Jesus died. But we also inherit God’s divine nature, just as human children inherit their father’s sinful nature, which also makes us heirs of eternal life.

God is perfect; He has no sin, therefore He cannot die since it was sin that brought death into the world. When we are reunited with Him by the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus, we receive His nature as a gift, just as Adam did in the beginning. God always sees us “in Christ”, perfected and complete, and therefore we also, just like Jesus, cannot die because we now have His nature.

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises so that, through them, you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world caused by evil desires.” 2 Peter 1:3-4.

While we are still in this life, we are to become what we are, sons and daughters of God who are just like Jesus, having the very nature of God – gracious, generous, compassionate and merciful. God is working it in us as we work it out.

“And we know that in all things God is working for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.” Romans 8:28-30.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Slave Or Son?

Bible Study, , , ,

SLAVE OR SON?

“What I am saying is that as long as an heir is under age, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were under age, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption to sonship.” Galatians 4:1-5.

How tragic that so many of God’s children still believe that they are slaves and behave like slaves instead of living like sons!

What is the difference between a slave and a son? A slave has no father, no name, no home and no inheritance. He lives in the fear of punishment if he does not obey. He does not belong except as a possession which his master can treat as he pleases and sell to another master when he chooses. He has no permanent place in the family.

A son, on the other hand, has been born into the family. He came from the seed of his parents. He carries his father’s name. He belongs in the household no matter how he behaves. He can never be “unborn”. He inherits his family’s genes. He is like them in looks and in character. He is loved and secure in his family relationships.

“Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” John 1:12.

In God’s scheme of things, the law served a temporary purpose in history. When God sent His Son into the world, the purpose of the law was fulfilled. It had done its job and was no longer needed. When we believed in Jesus, we were moved from spiritual childhood to adulthood. We have a new relationship with the Father through Jesus and have been promoted to adult sonship. We took our place beside Jesus as brothers and sisters and as sons and daughters of God.

How did this happen? God sent His Son to be and to do what we failed to do. Paul explicitly declares that Jesus was born of a woman. What does that mean? He was a fully human being, born into the world as every other human being is born. His mother was an ordinary woman. She had no special credentials. Paul did not even mention her name. She was a woman, not a divine being who was miraculously conceived and had a sinless nature.

Jesus had to be fully man. He had to have a human nature. If not, He could not have represented us to the Father. He had to face what we face, all the difficulties, problems and temptation of being fallen human beings. He had to be a perfect son, living under the heavy requirements of the law and obeying every detail of the law to qualify as a perfect substitute.

Jesus was also fully God. He was conceived, not through sexual union with a human father but through the power of the Holy Spirit. He, not Mary, is the perfect mediator between God and man. He represents God to man and man to God. He came to show us the Father and take us to the Father because He is the perfect replica of the Father.

He had to pay the redemption price of slaves to buy us back from the slave market of sin and restore us to the family of God. The price God required and the price He paid perfect obedience to God’s law or death breaking the Law. He paid for our sin with His own life blood because we could not pay.

He has the right to give us life because He bought it for us, but we have to receive His gift by faith in Him.   We cannot earn it by trying to please God. We can only please God by believing in His son.

Can it be more simple than that?

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

 

Who Needs A Guardian?

Bible Study, , ,

WHO NEEDS A GUARDIAN?

“Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave not free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus, If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:23-29.

Interesting how Paul wove Jewish history and Roman culture together to help his readers understand why they were not obligated to obey the Law of Moses! Having explained that the law was given for the purpose of teaching God’s people what sin is, that He is a holy God, and they could not approach Him without sacrifice and a mediator, he went on to explain how the law acted as a guardian until Christ came.

In a Roman household, little children were cared for by a paidagogos, a slave whose task was to care for and teach the children until they reached the age when the sons were “adopted” by the father and the daughters by the mother. The sons would don the toga virilis, the toga of manhood, and take his place at the father’s side to learn the father’s business. For the Jewish son, it was his bar mitzvah which was his rite-of-passage to manhood.

The law acted as a custodian for the people of God. They were like spiritual children who needed rules and regulations to spell out how God wanted them to live. Rules are what children understand best, even if they don’t obey them. Another way to understand the law is to see it as a boundary fence, so that those who live inside the boundaries are safe. One does not open the gate for a toddler to play in the street. He does not understand how to keep himself safe in a dangerous place

When Christ came, instead of boundaries, God gave His children direct access to Himself through Jesus, and the Holy Spirit who lives within the believer as a personal Paidagogos, a companion and guide, steering the believer from within to live in the safety of God’s ways. The law was only meant for immature children, to keep them from destroying themselves. When a person reaches maturity, he no longer needs the do’s and don’ts of the law because he is mature enough to make the right choices through his childhood training.

An immature child is nothing but a slave, but when he reaches maturity, he sheds his slave status and becomes a son. So it is with us. When Jesus came, He rescued us from being slaves to the law and restored us to being sons and daughters in God’s family. When we receive Him by faith, He moves us from slavery to sonship and puts the Spirit of sonship into our hearts. He transfers us into a new family that is made up of people from every group on earth, Jew and Gentile, male and female, slave and free.

That means that no one is better than anyone else. All are on the same level and have the same status – children of God. Why, then, should Gentiles be forced to accept circumcision as a pre-requisite for faith in Jesus and entrance into God’s family? In fact, why should any requirement except obedience to Jesus’ commands – to be baptised and to remember His death – be a requirement for participation in the family of God?

The argument is futile and foolish and based on a complete misunderstanding of the gospel. The gospel is good news about Jesus, what He had done to set us free from every “yoke of bondage” that demands that we need to obey rules to gain God’s acceptance, and to be yoked with Him because He did it all for us.

Children in a family do not have to perform to gain their father’s love and approval, He loves them because they are his own flesh and blood. We are Jesus’ “flesh and blood” because He bought us back from Satan and made us His own again.

“In bringing many sons to glory it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect though suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of one family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.” Hebrews 2:10, 11.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.