-

 Galatians 2:11-21 - Building Up What Jesus Tore Down


Notre Dame Cathedral (shortly before it was burned)

It seems easy to forget what God did for us.  Paul was shocked at how soon the Galatians turned away from the truth of faith and freedom in Jesus Christ (1:6).  Yet God’s Grace should be at the forefront of the Christian’s mind.  Daily.  Jesus died on the Cross.  He did this to make us right with our Heavenly Father.  We know this of course.  It even seems trite - no need to keep preaching it?

        But is it?  It seems we, like the mighty Peter, have a tendency to forget that we are now under a new law, a perfect law that sets us free.  Speak out.  Speak out against rulers of this world who scheme to concentrate their power and build up what Jesus tore down.  Be bold in Christ.

Are our churches, the culture of modern Christians, characterized by people afraid of what other people think of them?  You see that in this passage, Peter was afraid of criticism.  A culture of fear is not biblical.  It is from the devil.  Are we known as rules and regulations people, people who have rebuilt the old system of the law that Jesus tore down?  Do we, by our traditions and actions (our culture) of doing this and not doing that, show that we treat the grace of God as meaningless?  

Paul called out Peter and Barnabas’ hypocrisy.  We need to examine ourselves and our churches.  Where are the A.W. Tozers of today?  Who is calling the church to purity and freedom in Christ?  God is.  God’s word is doing that.  We need to examine ourselves and our churches.  Are we too led astray?  Do we teach that a person is only acceptable to God if he obeys religious traditions and the law of Moses?

Stop living by human performance measures.  Jesus empowers.  He never tempts us.  That’s our own desires that tempt us (James 1).  Jesus does not do that.  No man or woman is your Judge.  Jesus is.  But make sure that your faith is in Him alone (James 1).

Discard the Jewish laws.  This is required by Scripture (2:14).  Abandon trying to get right with God by your performance (2:17).  Stop it!  But be careful.  Now that you have won your battle with the evil one (1 James 2) the devil will put all sorts of obstacles in front of you and you’ll be reminded of the resilient power of your human nature.  Push on.  Be strong.  Those who escape from sin and accept divine guidance are free and joyful (Proverbs 29:18).

Living by man-made rules tramples on what Christ did for us and His command for how we should live now.  Never rebuild the old system of laws that Jesus tore down; stop trying to meet all the laws and the requirements of the traditions.  Instead focus on believing the message you heard about Jesus, a message of love, forgiveness, new life, and obedience to Christ.  A message to go and sin no more.  God will guide us and direct us daily to put our faith in Him in loving action and how not to sin.

Christ Jesus, we are excited about this new life in you.  But we are babies, needing care, direction, protection, and guidance.  Help us to grow into mature children of God.  We know You love us, God.  Thank you!  Please bless your church to love you and to understand you and to be like Lord Jesus today.  In power and grace, Amen.




Comments

Post a Comment

I'd love to hear your comments, and if you have questions email me at dcbell1111@gmail.com.

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
 2 Timothy 3 - Are You a Christian, Christian?           Early in my legal career (I'd been practicing about five years and about five years into my Christian walk) I had an interesting encounter with the CEO of one of our firm’s clients.  It was 2001 and technology companies were thriving.           My neighbors in S.W. Calgary were Lebanese immigrants and faithful members of their mosque.  They were some of the best neighbors we’ve ever had.  They owned a bakery that made Pita bread.  I’ll never forget the day we took possession of that house.  As they often would in the eleven years we lived there, they brought me a big bag of fresh bread.  We shared many good conversations with them over the years.  I love them and I pray God blesses them.           My neighbors had a friend from the mosque who was the CEO of Wi-LAN - a publicly listed tech company that held patents for technology that was key to the Blackberry - and later many other mobile phones.  Wi-LAN made many in the mosq
Read more
-
Image
 Hebrews 2:1-5 - Signs and Wonders - Miracles and Gifts I can shock myself at my inability to learn simple lessons.  They say just showing up is 90% of success.  Well, I’m confident inattentiveness, waffling, and ambivalence are keys to failure. In this passage, we hear yet again a warning to “listen very carefully” to God’s message or we run a real risk of total failure - drifting away from God (2:1).  With responsibility comes consequences.  Just ask any sentry, goaltender, place-kicker, or pilot.  You have a job to do - if you don’t do it well the results are clear.  So, let’s do it well. It’s the same as we develop and grow as Christians.  We have to make a decision to grow.  I've been reading about growthmindset lately and I think God is finally getting through to me.           It will not come as a shocker to any dad hooked on porn, a mom who has dabbled in an office romance, or the pastor who’s craftily swindled money from the church.  Christians can’t just casually li
Read more
-
Image
 Hebrews 6 - Faith and Endurance These next two chapters of Hebrews are incredibly encouraging for the Christian.  God gives us confidence and courage to do what we must.  When the whistle blows, be ready to go.  God in Heaven is developing your character; He’s preparing you to fight His battles.           We are responsible to grow.  We know that God repays people for the wrong they have done (Jeremiah 50:24).  And that God uses whomsoever He chooses as His instruments of justice (Jeremiah 50:20).  “For the LORD is a God who gives just punishment; he always repays in full” (Jeremiah 50:56). Thinking of God’s character is sobering, and good.  We know Jesus is the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.  In the next few chapters, we hear the truth about who Jesus is and our responsibilities to Him. Nearly 2,000 years after the death, burial, and resurrection of our King we are reminded that there are false teachers today - those leading people astray for power and greed - just as there
Read more