Tag: Galatians

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!

Galatians Day 6- Putting people on a Pedastal…

On By Ben JenningsIn Devotional, LeadershipLeave a comment

pedestal3Have you ever known someone who has done a lot for the Lord? I have several people in my life who have a large influence when it comes to making a difference for the Lord. These kind of people deserve honor, and should be learned from and worked with, yet they are still people. Yesterday we saw some great leadership skills exemplified by Paul. Today this example continues.

Paul recognized those who were influential without holding them in too high regard…

But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me: (7) But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; (v.6-7)

…because he recognized it was the grace of God that allowed them all to accomplish any gospel ministry.

(8) (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) (9) And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. (10) Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do. (v.8-10)

So, some points of application for us:

  • Sometimes a desire to hold others in too high regard comes from a desire to be held in high regard by others.
  • A cure for this is understanding who we are and who God is when it comes to ministry. Every person is given talents, spiritual gifts, and particular ministry that is specific to them. Any true success that anyone has in life is the gracious gift of God.

Any opportunity to do ministry, and any success that comes in ministry is a gracious gift of God.

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Galatians Day 5- The Gospel as a Compass

On By Ben JenningsIn Devotional1 Comment

5374308475_619de16a0aWas the apostle Paul a great leader?  I submit to you that he was!  We see this in an incredible way in today’s text.  To make sure you get a context for this proposition, lets refresh our memories for what we have seen already.

So far in our Galatians study we have seen that Paul was…

– …startled that they had so quickly walked away from the Gospel that they had received of the Lord via Paul. (1:6-7, 11-12).   This “other gospel” that the Galatians had begun to receive is really summed up in Acts 15:1-2.

Acts 15:1-2  And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.  (2)  When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

Paul was also…

– …communicating that the adding anything else to the Gospel made it another gospel and should be rejected regardless of the messenger. (1:8-10)
– …communicating in the last couple of verses in Galatians 1 about the last time He had been in Judea (Southern Israel) and specifically near Jerusalem.

Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.  (19)  But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.  (20)  Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.  (21)  Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia;  (22)  And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ:  (23)  But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.  (24)  And they glorified God in me.
Galatians 1:18-24

Paul was communitating the Galatian believers, his readers, that He had virtually no personal (or political) relationship with the believers in Jerusalem.
He said:

– I spent around 15 days with Peter
– I saw no other apostles except for Jesus’ brother James (now a leader in the church at Jerusalem
– If the believers in Judea had seen me at the market they wouldn’t recognize me, although they did know my reputation as a persecuter of Christians turned missionary.

So now as we examine today’s text we see Paul elaborate on his further relationship with the churches in Jerusalem and we see why he is talking about this:

Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.

It had been 14 years of ministry among the gentiles since Paul had been to Jerusalem and he said he took 2 men with him:

– Barnabas- Paul’s partner in ministry who had been instrumental in the believers accepting and trusting Paul after his conversion.
– Titus- a product of Paul’s ministry among the gentiles, and at this time evidence that God was bringing gentiles to the Lord.

To get another narrative of this circumstance that Paul is talking about, check out Acts 15:1-35.

(2)  And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.

Paul states that he went “by revelation” meaning he was lead by God to go to Jerusalem to share the gospel message to the Jerusalem church that he was teaching to the gentiles.  He also stated that he went first to some of the leaders of the church, “them which were of reputation”.  Paul was talking to these apostles, Peter James and John, first so that he could make sure not to have a public problem with one of the apostles that could be avoided and impact the gospel ministry that was happening among the gentiles.  It’s important to understand here that Paul was not looking for approval of the message to make sure that His message was correct.  Rather, Paul was looking for support from the apostles so that His ministry of the gospel would be supported by the believers and not undermined by the false teachers who were teaching the false gospel that someone should believe in Jesus and practice Judaism to be right with God.  This is his point in the last 3 verses of todays text:

(3)  But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:  (4)  And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:  (5)  To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. (Galatians 2:1-5)

Application from today’s text:

– Our commitment to the gospel should be greater than our commitment to popularity or public acceptance.  Paul was not concerned about being accepted as an individual.  His popularity among people who were teaching a false gospel was at the bottom of his priority list.  In fact it wasn’t even on the list.  Proclaiming the gospel won’t necessarily make you popular, especially with some crowds, but it should be our unwavering commitment.
– Our commitment to the gospel means that we seek alliances with people in  the defense and promotion of gospel ministry. Paul sought to make sure that His relationship and message with Peter, James and John were supported privately before the public conversation about the gospel.  Paul was shrewd in this circumstance.  Private conversations lead to public support.  What a great leadership model!
– What governed Paul’s actions was this statement:  “that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.”  Paul’s focus was unwavering.  It governed every decision, every interaction, like a compass to a sailor.  Paul knew exactly what the wise actions were once he had made this priority.  The gospel should be our priority as well.

How could a commitment to the gospel be a compass for your decisions?