Monthly Archives: March 2009

Galatians 1:8-10
8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

The Gospel is more important than the one who delivers it. Paul includes himself in the condemnation of those who would dare to deliver another Gospel. “Even if I deliver another Gospel…” Paul says, “then I should be eternally condemned”.

A couple of thoughts: 1) We should never be so presumptuous that we know with absolute certainty that we will never change or never be less than orthodox. Such self confidence is not faith in the keeping power and love of God. It is faith in oneself. The mark of faithfulness in the power of God to keep us is carefulness. 2) We are not as important as the message we deliver. We are not the indispensable element, the Gospel is. 3) Knowing the facts of the Gospel is crucially important. This nonsense about not getting bogged down in the details – just love Jesus – sends people to hell and we should never fall into the sin of it. 4) You will be tempted to fudge the truth and present another Gospel. The issue has always been and always will be, “What is the Gospel?”

Today, if the church finally capitulated and said, “yes, all roads do lead to God”, the world would rejoice. And we feel the disapproval of the world to the exclusivity of the Gospel. We could escape the scorn of the world if we would only change the message. But we dare not. We must not. We cannot.

When you give the Gospel, give the only Gospel there is to give. It is the power of God. It does not need to be apologized for. It does not need to have parts of it hidden or changed to help people accept it. The reason we see so little fruit in this part of the world is quite often due to the fact that we have attempted to change the Gospel to the times, to our own way of thinking. Sometimes the reason people so quickly embrace the message they have heard is because they did not hear the Gospel. God saves through the Gospel. Know it, believe it, preach it.

Galatians 1:6-9
6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel- 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

There is only one Gospel. Yet Paul can take the Galatian Christians to task, in verse 6, for deserting Christ and turning to another gospel. He explains what he means in verse 7: to preach another gospel is to to distort the one true Gospel that is.

There are all kinds of religious teachings, some called Christian, and some not, that distort the Gospel. And Paul is not shy to say what should happen to those who promote its distortion (vs. 8f). They should be eternally condemned. Think about this. Those who are preaching a way to heaven, eternal life, peace with God, etc. that is not the Gospel that He delivered should be eternally condemned.

This should settle, once and for all the debate about what happens to people who sincerely hold to their religious teachings that disagree with the Gospel presented in the Bible. It is a terrible thing to teach something that will end people up eternally condemned. While Christians get blamed for being bigoted and narrow minded for preaching faith alone in Christ alone, the Bible teaches that this is the only way to a right relationship with God. How cruel to know that and teach anything else. How deceived to believe otherwise.

The response to what Paul says here in verse 7 and in verse 8and 9 is to take great care to know the biblical Gospel and to preach nothing else but the biblical Gospel.

Those who maintain that different denominations and different religions should just get along and agree cannot maintain their argument in the light of Galatians 1. We must either hold tenaciously to the one true Gospel because of what Paul says here, or we must abandon what Paul says here and deny its truthfulness. The latter is simply not an option. We must recognize that there is only one Gospel. We must know it. We must preach it. And we must never surrender it no matter what the pressures on us are.

And we must, above all, seek to declare it in the ways encouraged in the Scriptures.

Galatians 1:1-5
1Paul, an apostle- not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead- 2and all the brothers who are with me,
To the churches of Galatia:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Verses 4 says that Jesus died for us to deliver us from this present evil age. Am I living in a way that demonstrates that I have been delivered from the evils of sin in our day? There is no reason, other than my own sinfulness, why I should be characterized by the sins of our times.

Some thoughts about this: 1) Holiness is accomplished first of all by the death of Christ on the cross for our sins. The Holy Spirit Himself will not sanctify anybody who is not a blood bought sinner. 2) There is no other way to holiness than through the cross. This is where Paul is headed in this text. He will get to verses 8 and 9 and say that to preach any other Gospel is to preach damnation on oneself. 3) Sanctification begins now. This text alone smashes any doctrine of grace absent of holiness. Grace teaches us to say no to ungodliness (Titus 2:11-13). 4) We cannot be rescued form sin now except by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 5) The present age is evil. 6) We are called to be separated from the evil that marks the world.

In verses 5 we are told that this deliverance is according to the will of our God and Father. This at least means that the Father and the Son are in complete agreement about what must be done; about their love for us; about the only solution. It means that the cross is the Father’s will (see Isaiah 53:10 and Matthew 26:39).

We must never think that Jesus is the God of mercy in the New Testament while the Father is the God of wrath and justice in the Old Testament. We have the Gospel because God the Father loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son. In no way ever are the Son and the Father at cross purposes. In no way ever does the Son do, want to do, or try to do anything that is not what the Father wants Him to do. He and the Father are One. Jesus came into the world to do the Father’s will. He came to save those the Father would give to Him.

Christian, today, show that you have been delivered from this present evil age. Demonstrate the power of the cross.

Proverbs 23:4
4 Do not toil to acquire wealth;
be discerning enough to desist.

Do not toil to acquire wealth. Be careful interpreting Proverbs. The very Book that name it and claim it types use to justify their horrible doctrines is the same Book that says the opposite of what they conclude. “Do not toil to acquire wealth” cannot mean that it is wrong to go to work to earn money.

But it does mean that we must get our priorities right. The acquisition of wealth is not to be the prime directive for our lives. Doctors should pursue their craft, not for the money, but for the sake of healing and discovering cures. Lawyers are to have the good of their clients and the society at large higher on their priority list than $400.00/hour. Pastors should be content with the necessities of life and work for the glory of God and the salvation and maturation of their flock. The end is very long.

The person who toils at his craft primarily for the money is an empty soul. God has much better in store for us. He does not call us to such meaningless pursuits as toiling just for the money. He calls us and gifts us so that we may be for the praise of His glory; so that we may enjoy Him; so that we may fulfill the mandate for which He created mankind in the first place.

How we rob ourselves!! The pursuit of wealth is a hollow and shallow and unsatisfying goal. God has much better for us. Today, do not go to work simply for the purpose of the money that it garners. Have higher purposes and find true fulfilment as a believer who works for the glory of God and the good of others.

Galatians 1:3-4

1Paul, an apostle- not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead- 2and all the brothers who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

- Verse 4 says that Jesus died for us to deliver us from this present evil age. Am I living in a way that demonstrates that I have been delivered from the evils of sin in our day? There is no reason, other than my own sinfulness, why I should be characterized by the sins of our times.

Some thoughts about this:
1) Holiness is accomplished first of all by the death of Christ on the cross for our sins. The Holy Spirit Himself will not sanctify anybody who is not a blood bought sinner.
2) There is no other way to holiness than through the cross. This is where Paul is headed in this text. He will get to verses 8 and 9 and say that to preach any other Gospel is to preach damnation on oneself.
3) Sanctification begins now. This text alone smashes any doctrine of grace absent of holiness. Grace teaches us to say no to ungodliness (Titus 2:11-13).
4) We cannot be rescued from sin now except by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
5) The present age is evil.
6) We are called to be separated from the evil that marks the world.

In verse 5 we are told that this deliverance is according to the will of our God and Father. This at least means that the Father and the Son are in complete agreement about what must be done; about their love for us; about the only solution.

It means that the cross is the Father’s will (see Isaiah 53:10 and Matthew 26:39). We must never think that Jesus is the God of mercy in the New Testament while the Father is the God of wrath and justice in the Old Testament. We have the Gospel because God the Father loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son. In no way ever does the Son counteract the will of the Father. In no way ever does the Son do or try to do anything that is not what the Father wants Him to do. He and the Father are One. Jesus came into the world to do the Father’s will. He came to save those the Father would give to Him.

Psalm 20

1May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble!
May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!

“May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!” A high view of God makes such texts of Scripture such as Psalm 20 utterly amazing. It is a person with a very small God who complains that God did not deliver him in the right way (or at all). People who say that if God is as big as we say that he is then He ought to come across for us, are very ignorant people. It could be that they are talking out of their pain and we perhaps should cut them some slack and understand that.

But God is the centre of the universe, not us. People get upset with God because they think that God owes them something.

But the fact remains that to be able to even to ask God for help is an immense privilege. Why should He who does whatever He pleases, who knows the end from the beginning, who ordains all things that come to pass yet is not guilty of anything that is sinful, even bend His ear to hear what my request is? Answer? Jesus Christ. God does what He does for people, for the glory of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we are in Christ because He loves us. We love because He loved us. We have access to God because of Christ and He lives to intercede for us the Father. All this and more and now we can say “Hear my cry O God.” This is stunning.

Proverbs 17:3 (ESV) The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts.

The LORD here is compared to that which is used to burn off impurities out of metal in order to make them more pure. The analogy is obvious. The troubles of life are the works of God for the purpose of driving us to greater conformity to Christ. God is testing our hearts. A faith that cannot stand trial is no faith at all.

The Gospel is not a call to come and follow in an environment of safety and easy sailing. It is a call to die, to suffer, to warfare and pain and loss. There is not much more comforting than the truth that the current crises, whatever they may be, are sent by God in order to prove the genuineness of my faith.

This should not be interpreted to mean that the Christian life is miserable. I Peter 1:3-9 is the best answer to that. Life is hard. The Christian life is hard, and even though it is, we rejoice in what He has done for us and are filled with inexpressible joy.

He has given me life. He walks with me through this valley of the shadow of death and He has given very great and precious promises. Such truth and realities should not be traded off for anything else, for all else is a lie.

I Peter 1:3-9

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7so that the tested genuineness of your faith-more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire-may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.