2002-01-01
Good Morning Fellow Believers,
The faith we share is very vital and precious to each of us. That is why we the time we spend in God’s word, in fellowship with other believers, in witnessing to our faith, and in prayer is never wasted. We do this with joy, if our faith is real, because we are full-participants in the Covenant of Grace. Out of these pursuits comes nurturing, teaching and preaching, evangelism, ministries of service, worship, and intercession. All of these things are what God commands us to do using the talent He has given us. Paul understood this when he wrote his letter to the Galatians. But, a problem existed in Galatia at the time, one to which we are not immune today. The problem I refer to here is the distortion of the God’s word that comes when a human intermediary with human agendas gets in the way of transmitting God’s word to mankind. The only defense against this interference is discernment obtained directly from the Scriptures and the courage to correct or remove the intermediary. If that sounds like tough talk, it needs to be. The responsibility was beautifully stated by Paul writing to Timothy at the end of the former’s life in 2 TIM 1:13-14, “Hold firmly to the true words that I taught you, as the example for you to follow, and remain in the faith and love that are ours in union with Christ Jesus . Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Who lives in us, guard the treasure entrusted to you.” What was that treasure? The word of God.
The distortion of the word in Galatia was coming from human efforts to mix Law and grace, something which cannot be done. They are two separate economies and always will be. The need to replace the Covenant of the Law with the Covenant of Grace provides the proof for that. The arguments for combining them came from teaching the belief that salvation comes from a mixture of works and faith. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. As Les Feldick would say: “FAITH + NOTHING = SALVATION.” If there is any question about works, let it be known that good deeds are a natural outgrowth of faith, because of what we learn in RO 6: 6, 11. “And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on His cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be the slaves of sin…In the same way you are to think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is concerned, but living in the fellowship with god through Christ Jesus.” Therefore, the justified person has been deemed righteous by God and desires to do good deeds. The good deeds themselves while an outgrowth of our union with Christ do not in themselves bring salvation. Only repentance and faith in Christ can do that.
If works and faith are mixed, then what God tells us in HE 8: 13 is denied. You can be sure that is not God’s will. HE 8: 13, “By speaking of a new covenant God has made the first one old; and anything that becomes old and worn will disappear.” That same denial also applies to HE 10: 9 when works and faith are mixed. HE 10: 9, “Then He [Christ when He was about to come into this world] said, ‘Here I am, O God, to do you Your will.’ So God does away with all the old sacrifices and puts the sacrifice of Christ in their place.” Mixing works and faith is also contrary to HE 10: 1, “The Jewish Law is not a full and faithful model of the real things; it is only a faint outline of the good things to come. The same sacrifices are offered forever, year after year. How can the Law, then, by means of these sacrifices make perfect the people who come to God?” The salient fact that puts clarity on this issue is RO 10: 4, “For Christ has brought the Law to an end, so that everyone who believes is put right with God.” That means that Christ is the fulfillment of the Law.
On a practical level trying to mix works and faith goes right to the conflict between the flesh and the spirit. If we could work our way into heaven, then who needs God? Those who figure that their good deeds will get them into heaven are refusing to acknowledge God’s sovereign right to call people to faith and to select those who will have eternal life. To my understanding, they are denying that God is in charge. On the other hand, those who trust God to save them by the faith they have in Christ will be saved, and they will be saved in addition to desiring to do good deeds. From the very depth of my heart, I truly wish I could convince today’s Catholics, traditional Jews, and other denominations who think this way of the folly of mixing works and faith. But, only the Holy Spirit can do that. It’s a good reason for all of us who know the truth to be on our knees praying that the others will see it. I’m sure this is how Paul felt when he was writing to the Galatians. The flesh is what makes people believe that they can work their way into heaven. The Spirit is what teaches us that only our faith alone combined with repentance brings salvation. We must examine our own attitudes on these issues and see what our understanding about them really is in our own lives.
PRAYER: O Lord, when You inspired Paul to write compelling arguments to the Galatians of the evil of putting a human spin on His message, You allow us to see the same dangers that can befall our own churches today. Your precious message through Paul to his young protégé, Timothy, to “guard the treasure entrusted” is essential to us today. Satan tries in every way he can to muddy up the message that you want us to receive and act upon. Yet, with discernment gotten from spending each day in Your word, You have shown us that we have the power to thwart the devil’s attempts to tempt us with his lies. O Lord, loving Abba, give us the wisdom not to fall prey to the enemy’s deception and the compassion to help others who are doing so with love. Give us the courage not to become self-righteous and judgmental. Instead, let us have the strength and endurance to overcome opposition and stay the course in keeping accurate to Your word in all we think, decide, say, and do. Help us to know that we can’t buy or work our way into heaven. That is a privilege held apart and given freely out of Your grace for those who confess, repent, and believe in Christ Jesus. Help us each in our own lives, Dear Lord, to know that we do have the power to deny the flesh, take up our own crosses, and follow Him [LK 9L 23]. If we obey Him, we can be His disciples. We will know the truth, and the truth shall set us free [JN 8: 31-32]. In humility we lay before Your altar our offering of adoration, worship, praise, loyalty, diligence, adherence to the word, glory, honor, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at Paul’s words to counteract the false teaching going on in Galatia during his time. We all know that the definition for sin is separation from God. It is clear from His word that His will is that we should not be separated from Him. In fact, our loving Abba wants as many of us as possible to come to faith in the Son and to close the gap between Him and us for eternity in heaven. We cannot blame God if some people refuse to accept the invitation to righteousness and to join Him in His work that He has given us. We can make all that love that is His will to shower us with worthwhile for Him if we choose to accept it and reflect it in kind. Staying accurate to His word is one way of doing this. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn