Tag: Apostle Paul

Galatians Day 12- God Keeps His Promises

On By Ben JenningsIn Devotional1 Comment

medium_2232897539Have you ever made a promise that you had a hard time keeping?  I heard a story about a dad who was training his son to give him the business he started.  “Son, 2 things have made this business successful- reliability and wisdom.  If you say you’re going to do it by next Tuesday then no matter how many hours, how much pain, and how difficult it is, you have to have it done by Tuesday.”  The son replied, “Well, that’s reliability.  What about wisdom?”  The dad replied, “Wisdom is not making that kind of promise in the first place.”

It is difficult for us to keep our promises at times, but we expect that when promises are made to us they will be kept!

In today’s reading, Galatians 3:15-18,  Paul talks about the promises that God made to Abraham.

15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.

  • If people make a promise, especially a legally binding contract, we expect it, and enforce it to be kept.

16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.  17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. 18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

  • Even the covenant promise that God made to Abraham was the gracious response to Abraham’s faith.  Abraham didn’t earn it by works.
  • God will keep His promise to Abraham!

Action Step:

  • God can be trusted.  If He says He will do something, it will be done.
  • Do you keep your promises?  Is your word your bond?  If we are to reflect the character of God we keep our word!  Maybe today you need to go make good on a promise you made.

Galatians Day 11- The problem with rules….

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment
medium_205467442Have you ever noticed how impossible it is to keep all the rules?  I sure have.  If the only rules that existed had to do with just how we use our words then I would be in TROUBLE!  If we only had one rule we would break it.  Just ask Adam and Eve.  
With that being said, so many people are trying to get right with God by keeping rules.  They think if I keep enough rules and don’t break too many others then maybe God will accept me.
Paul had something to say about this way of thinking in our reading in Galatians 3:10-14-

10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

  • If you don’t keep every law all the time then you have broken God’s law and are under the curse.

11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. 12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

  • Paul quotes the Old Testament to prove that God has always taught that those who are made right with Him are made right because of their faith, and that if you try to be right with God by the law then you’ll be judged by the law.

13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Say it in a sentence: Jesus kept the law on our behalf and took the curse of breaking the law for us so that we can live under God’s grace through faith.  
Action Points:
  • Which plan are you on- faith or works?  Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way any of us will be accepted by God.  Have you asked Him to save you in faith?  If not, do it now!
  •  Do you ever think that God will accept you or reject you because of your performance?  Stop this thinking!  God accepts us because of Jesus alone.  Do right because you are accepted by faith, not to be accepted!
  • Take some time to thank God today for His 

Galatians Day 9- It’s All God

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

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If someone gave you a $100,000,000 home, ranch and estate that would be great right? With a gift like that though comes some responsibility. It takes a lot of money to maintain an estate that large. The person that had the means to give you that estate would have to also help you maintain it as well.

That is a poor illustration of what salvation is like. The most incredible and extravagant gift that we can be given is the gift of salvation. “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God!” We can’t earn earn our salvation on our own, nor could we keep it our own. He has to give us the power to please Him and glorify Him as well.

Paul began churches in Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. As a church planting missionary he had seen people in these cities come to faith in Christ, experience Holy Spirit lead life change in incredible ways. So when Paul gets to chapter 3 of the book of Galatians he begins to remind the Galatians about how they came to faith in Christ. He uses very strong language because the situation is so dire. They are believing things that change the gospel!

1    O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

Do you not remember what you believed about the death of Jesus? Why would Jesus have to die if you could get right with God on your own?

2    This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?3    Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?4    Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

Paul calls them to answer this question- If you were Saved by faith, why do you think you have to continue to be saved and grow in God by works? You didn’t do anything to earn your salvation. Why do you think you must do something to keep your salvation?

5    He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Does God respond with good things to our faith or to our works? What is the answer? The hearing of faith!

So how do we apply this text?:

-We don’t just need God for salvation. We need Him for life!
When was the last time you believed that God will give you the victory over sin in your life? When was the last time you asked Him to help you fight sin and believed that he would?

-We need to be grateful for God’s grace, in spite of our sin, in response to our faith.
Thank God for His grace today.

Galatians Day 7- Fear and Hypocrisy

On By Ben JenningsIn Devotional, UncategorizedLeave a comment

FEAR4-640x701Have you ever known (or been) someone who was one way with one crowd and then another way in another crowd? None of us like to see that in other people, and we all tend to have a difficult time seeing that in ourselves.
For those of us who know Christ as Savior this hypocrisy can be more than just a social problem. This can be a spiritual problem as well. How do we deal with it in ourselves and in others when we see it?

11    But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.12    For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.

Paul was willing to confront the leader of the church in Jerusalem because of what he was doing. Paul was confronting Peter because of Peter’s fear of man. Peter was acting in a way that was consistent with his theology when no jews were around. He would “eat with the gentiles”, which meant he wouldn’t be worried about the Old Testament dietary laws when no jews were around. But when people who believed that you had to believe in Jesus and keep the law to be saved, the judaizers, came around, Peter feared what they would say and think and withdrew himself from the gentiles with whom he had spent time. Instead of confronting the bad theology of the judaizers he feared them and avoided the gentiles.

13    And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.

The problem is that Peter, as a leader, was setting an example. I see two big problems that came from Peter’s behavior.

1. The church’s relationship with the gentiles. Can you imagine how the gentiles felt when they began to be avoided by the church leaders? Do you think that it could have created racial, social, and theological tension in their church? We don’t know how far it had gotten before this time, but if left unchecked it could have made a negative impact on the church.
2. The toleration of harmful theology. The behavior of the leaders of the church meant that they were tolerating a theology that said that Jesus’ death and ressurection is not enough for salvation.

So Paul had to say something…

14    But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?

The only answer that Peter could give is, “Because I am more concerned about what these judaizer’s think.” Notice that it took a lack of fear of Peter on Paul’s part to confront Peter’s fear of the judaizers that was affecting the church and the gospel.

Now before we get to hard on Peter and the rest of the leaders there, have you and I ever behaved in a way that hindered the gospel?

  • Have we ever been scared to tell someone about Jesus even when we knew we should?
  • Have we ever failed to put time into our schedule to share the gospel with our church family?
  • Have we ever failed to be open to new people in our church by focusing on the comfortable group of friends that we already know?

Think about this- Every person that comes into our life has steps that they need to take toward Jesus. When God puts them in our path it means that we have a stewardship of that opportunity. Often our response is like Peter’s response- fear. Fear will cause us to deny what we know to be true. When we give into the fear and fail to act we say something about the gospel that is not true. This affects both the saved and the unsaved around us.

Don’t give in to fear today in you or in others!