Fundamental Grace Part 7- Fools, Faith, and the Flesh

“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? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:1-3)

It is imperative that we know what we believe. One of the saddest commentaries on today’s society is that so many Scientology groups, Mormon churches, Jehovah’s Witness halls and segment of dozens of other cults are filled with former Bible-believing Baptists. Many former Catholics have left the Baptist church and returned to Catholicism. That may be difficult for you to fathom, but it happens because too many of them did not know what they professed to believe.

I would never do anything publicly to embarrass my church, but sometimes I feel it would be good to give the congregation a quiz on some basic Bible facts and issues that all of us should have known for quite some time. I love teaching a class of new converts and showing them basic truths from the Word of God, because you can see so plainly when the light bulb comes on and they get it. It is so cool to teach something from the Bible and hear a person say, “I never knew that. I never saw that before.”

The other great thing about teaching that class is that I am constantly reminded and reaffirmed concerning the doctrines of the faith. They are simple and straightforward; there is nothing magical or mystical about them. If you follow God’s Word, you will have success, but if you reject it, you will find yourself in a world of hurt. There is an old song entitled, “Trust and Obey.” That sums it up. Do what the Bible says and trust the Lord, and you will be in good shape.

While I enjoy begin constantly reminded of these great truths, I am also reminded of how many people do not know what they believe. We must be able to defend truth.

With this in mind, consider the STINGING INDICTMENT from Paul in verse 1. Some people say, “I wish our pastor preached like the Apostle Paul.” Be careful what you wish for. Paul was brutal. He didn’t cut his audience any slack.

He starts the third chapter by calling the Galatians foolish. No one in his right mind would want to receive a letter like that. If you break that word down in this context, it refers to someone who is mentally lazy and careless in study. He was telling the church at Galatia, “You were unwilling to study and solidify what you believe.”

I hope everyone reading these words is faithful to church for every regular service and anything else that is going on, but if you are learning your doctrine only in the four or five hours you are at church each week, you will be weak. You must take time to do this, and it is hard work. People who say, “I just don’t have the time,” are the main reason our generation cannot defend what it believes.

Theologically, Baptists as a group are lazy. Just as we are commanded to worship or to witness, we are commanded to “study to shew thyself approved unto God,” according to II Tim. 2:15.

Also in verse 1, Paul referred to how the people were charmed and led astray by false teaching. They were flattered with false promises, perhaps by using the occult, to emphasize feeling over fact and emotion over truth.

So many churches and religious movements today are advising people not to let doctrine “divide” them. If you put doctrine in its proper place, you can’t help but divide people because not everyone believes the same thing. That is just common sense.

During my first two years as a pastor in Texas in the late 1990s I was invited to be part of a citywide rally with patriotic and political overtones. At first I went because I wanted to see what it was like, and I sat on the platform with men from other denominations in the area, but eventually I decided I was just not comfortable there. Not everyone on that platform believed the same things I did. My decision was solidified some time later when I attended a funeral at a church with which I agreed on almost nothing, and I was asked to give a eulogy because the deceased woman’s daughter was a member of my church. After I spoke, the man who followed me spent his entire sermon talking about tongues and gifts of the Spirit because he knew the room was filled with Baptists. He never talked about the deceased during his sermon.

As we left the service, the husband of my church member (who is lost to this day as far as I know) told his wife, “There was more Bible in what your preacher said in five minutes than what the other guy said in an hour.” That confirmed in my heart that I could not be part of a program with someone who would waste an opportunity to present Christ and choose to try to convince a crowd of people about something else.

One of the saddest things a church member can say to me is, “My children are going to Such-and-Such Church. I don’t agree with everything they believe, but at least they are going to church.” I would submit that it is better to stay out of church than to go to a wrong church, because they will not be taught a lie. There is probably a better chance for the Lord to get hold of their hearts out on the street in their daily lives than if they are soothed by false teaching and wrong doctrine every Sunday.

The situation with the Galatians was a failure of faith. The people were leaving the faith of Christ and moving into a fleshly realm. Anyone who has been around Christianity for very long knows that more Christians walk by flesh than by faith, and that is a dangerous thing. If you fool around too long without properly educating yourself from the Word of God, you eventually come up with your own flesh-centered doctrine. At that point, as we see so often in today’s society, truth becomes irrelevant.

The final phrase of verse 1 suggests that Christ was openly and publicly preaching when these people were alive, and they had received His death burial and resurrection for their salvation before turning away. No works were taught or preached during Christ’s ministry, so these changes had come later.

Notice in verse 2 the SPIRITUAL INVESTMENT made by Paul in the lives of the Galatians. In saying, “This only would I learn of you,” he is expressing his desire that someday they could teach him, instead of him always having to teach them. He was saying in essence, “I wish that you could get this so I wouldn’t have to keep showing it to you.”

In his letters to the Corinthians, Paul mentioned that he wanted to give the people meat but had to give them milk instead because that was all they could handle. I have often wondered what he was referred to in that passage. Here is a deep theological truth that many Christians need to get hold of today: Grow up! At some point you need to start digging out the truth on your and making it personal. Stop living off the labor and teaching of others. Your pastor is there to get you started; you need to crank it up and get going on your own.

Since the Galatians weren’t getting it, Paul had to establish the doctrine once again. In asking the basic question at the end of verse 2, he pointed out that they were trying to finish in the flesh what they had started in faith. Living in the flesh for God is not too far from living in the flesh for Satan. When you stop living by faith, you are in trouble. Faith is what makes you grow and move forward for God. Faith, grace and mercy are not just salvation terms; they are also sanctification terms. Having a church full of people who were saved by faith but are living in the flesh is what produces a lot of castaways and wrecked lives.

Look at Rom. 1:17. “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” When you were saved you did not eliminate the flesh factor, but you gained the faith factor. To have victory, you need to live by faith just like you were saved by faith.

The Bible says in Rom. 10:16-17, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” You may have thought those verses referred to salvation, but they are actually about Christian living. The problem that I see in our families is that we are not living by faith. You must have faith to continue in the Christian life.

Why is so little done spiritually in the home? Why do you depend upon Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night to feed your family? If you want your children to grow, they have to be fed a steady diet of faith. It has to be modeled and demonstrated for them on a regular basis. If you are going to live by faith, you need to invest in that. A good movie lasts two hours, and a good ball game is longer than that. It doesn’t take many such events to eat up a lot of time. We frequently feed other things more than we feed our faith. Our lives are so chaotic that you have to work to fit spiritual things into your schedule.

Your giving is a way to model your faith. Going above your tithe with special offerings and giving to missions will stretch you and your family. Perhaps you would like to take your family on a mission trip, and you know you must trust God to provide the resources for that. What a great way to model your faith in front of your children.

Read Eph. 1:13-14. “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” The Holy Spirit is in you, but you still have your flesh. You must make a conscious choice to both fortify and feed that part of you by continually submitting yourself to Him, or you will fortify and feed the flesh. A lot of folks are starving the Spirit of God while fattening the flesh. Paul teaches over and over throughout the New Testament that there must be a crucifying of the flesh so the Spirit of God can have liberty in our lives, to do for us and through us what He wishes to do. We need to take a good look at what we are feeding and fortifying.

The SANCTIFICATION of our flesh is addressed in verse 3. Sanctification is the process by which we become spiritually mature. Paul uses the word “perfect” in this case. “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”

Salvation is instantaneous. Once it is done, it is done. You do not lose your salvation. In the Bible, the words “all” and “eternal” mean exactly what we have always known them to mean every single time. Once you trust Christ, you are saved all the time and forever.

On the other hand, sanctification is not instantaneous. It is the process or perfection or maturation. If you had a child, you would be sad if he or she were still in an infant stage by the fifth or sixth birthday. You want your children to mature in every way – physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally.

You may have been saved 50 years, but if you have not progressed spiritually you are still an infant. As a pastor I have changed a lot of 60-year-old diapers in my lifetime. It is amusing to me to see a senior citizen throw a spiritual fit like a middle-school student, and I have seen plenty of them.

Salvation takes an instant, but sanctification takes the rest of your life until you meet the Lord. I know a 92-year-old man in my church who is a wonderful Christian, and he would tell you, “I haven’t arrived, but I am making progress.” He has a fantastic walk with God, but he is still working on it.

You don’t arrive in a weekend. It’s a long journey and you are going to mess up along the way, but God knows that and has already placed those missteps under the blood. He wants you to keep moving forward, not backward, in His grace and with His help. How does He do this?

* By paying our sin debt. According to II Cor. 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” We have the ability to mature as Christians because we are already saved. God gave Christ the authorization to take our place, and as we accept His death, burial and resurrection as payment for our sin, we take on His righteousness as He takes our sin. The eternal security of our salvation is a solid foundation upon which we can build a victorious life, and any theology that causes you to constantly question your salvation is a wicked tool to keep you in spiritual infancy.

* By providing grace to live victoriously, as we see in Rom. 6:14. “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Living the Christian life is physically impossible in the flesh. You cannot possibly be a good enough Christian on your own.

* By giving us the Person of the Holy Spirit. Rom. 8:13 says, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” When you are saved, you get the Holy Spirit sealing you and indwelling you. You do not have to give in to sin anymore because He is working in you and through you. When you lead control of your fleshly desires to Him, He will lead you into righteousness.

* By removing the penalty of sin. Rom. 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” This is a doctrine that must be taught clearly. We are not under the guilt of sin anymore. “I have to tell God about this awful thing I did.” He knew about it when He died on the cross, as He bore all of our sins for us. It is already paid in full.

* By removing the power of sin. Look at Rom. 8:9. “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” The power of sin is no longer controlling you when you move toward the Spirit and away from the flesh. Sometimes people doubt their salvation because they are seeing sin in a different light, and that is because the Holy Spirit is working.

* By removing the presence of sin. One day, the words of I Cor. 15:50-53 will come alive for us: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” One day the Lord will take us all home to be with Him, and sin will never be a problem again.

Faith saves you, but it also grows you and matures you. If you thought you were saved by works, you could keep working from now on and never be saved. When there is an emptiness of self and a trust in Him alone, and you recognize the utter hopelessness of a life without Him, you have no choice but to trust by faith. The same faith that saved you is what will keep you growing in Christ.

We all should work for God as a way of demonstrating our faith, but our works do not impress God. To be honest, just doing what you should be doing as a Christian should not impress any of us. We should expect each other to be in church, to tithe, and to tell others about Jesus. God expects that from us as well.

There should be some things about our lives that set us apart from the world, but if live your entire life to please others or ultimately please God by your works, it will lead to a life of frustration because you are never going to do enough. It will always be a case of, “What have you done for me lately?” Churches built on performance-based faith eventually fall apart because no one can maintain that level of pressure.

We all need to get back to the attitude of living our lives for God because we love Him and want to give Him our best, not to impress Him.

Fundamental Grace Part 6- The Law

“We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” (Gal. 2:15-21)

In verse 15 Paul gave a clarification of the law, reminding them not to add Judaism to the gospel. Just because they kept the law as Jews did not mean they still were not sinners just like the Gentiles. It doesn’t matter what race or culture you may be. All of us are sinners. It is a sin problem, not a skin problem. Paul stressed that Jews were sinners just as Gentiles, and that all men and women are justified before God by faith.

The law is important, but you can do everything you are supposed to do and follow every rule you know of – and still split Hell wide open. Works alone justify no one. The Bible says in Rom. 4:2, “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.”

Think about Nicodemus in John 3. If any man had the right to point at his own good works and say, “Look at me,” it was Nicodemus. But while men may applaud his good works, God will reject him if He does not see his faith.

The works of the law are outward in nature. We are not justified by that, but by believing in Jesus Christ by grace through faith. James says that if are justified by Him, there will be an outward expression of that. In other words, when we are justified before God, our works will justify us before men. However, being justified before God does not give us the right to do whatever we want. Grace demands otherwise and motivates us to demonstrate to others that what we have is real. There is no contradiction between the writings of Paul and those of James regarding faith and works. They go hand in hand – faith toward God and works toward men. You cannot show men your faith unless you show them your works.

It is hard for you to be a witness about the life-changing work of God when the things in your own life are not life-changing. If Christ is working in your life, things should be different. The law is not a bad thing; after all, it is about how we live. There are still some things that are right in this world and some that are wrong. God wrote a very important Book that, among other things, shows us how to live.

The law is our schoolmaster. It is not the goal, but a means to the goal, which is to glorify God. We glorify Him in part by the way we live.

* The law cannot save or justify us in or by itself.

* What the law cannot do, only faith can do.

* Keeping the law is a byproduct of faith.

If you are not changed by the grace of God and a new creature, there is something wrong. You still have the same flesh, and temptation is still a great enemy of the believer, but there should be an inward desire to please God. If that is not there, you can keep all of the rules and do all of the good things you want to but you will still be the most miserable person in the world.

“Pastor, So-and-So used to go to church here with us and now he is so far out in the world. What happened?” He was never very far into Christ, and that is how he can get so far out in the world. I am in favor of Christian education because I believe it is a Biblical principle, but one problem with Christian education over the years is that it educated the character of many young people without transforming their hearts. They learned a lot of facts about the Bible without grasping what a difference Christ can make in a person’s life. I got right with God at 21 years of age, and it was a few years after that before I really got hold of what this is all about and realized that it is not about being a programmed robot that does this and doesn’t do that. It is about a relationship with a loving God who does not get furious every time I mess up.

The idea that God is pleased with you when you do good and mad at you when you do bad is just wrong theology. He already demonstrated His love by sending Christ to die for us. Nothing you do is going to make Him like or you hate you, because He has an unconditional agape love that is so different than anything we understand in the natural realm. He showed us His love when we were unlovable – and most of us could admit that we are still unlovable.

Rom. 3:20 says, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” The law cannot fix me, but the law can show me some things I can continue to work so I will draw closer to the Lord.

Look in that same chapter at verse 28. “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” Did you know that a man can trust Christ and go to Heaven having never had time to do good deeds by the law, yet God is still pleased with Him? It is salvation by grace through faith that gets a person to Heaven, not baptism or any other work.

You might say, “I don’t believe in deathbed salvation.” Well, I do. All you have to do is repent and believe (which is done in one fell swoop, by the way). It is not a process; you turn from sin to receive Christ. It doesn’t matter at that point if you got baptized or did anything else. I want you to be saved, baptized and growing in the Lord, but you have to be saved first. That is the most important part.

For years in so many of our churches we were concerned with the exterior and forgot to deal with the interior. If Christ gets hold of a man’s heart, He will also get his clothing, his attitude and his wallet. When I was running from God, there was not much I wouldn’t try, but when I hit the altar and gave my life to Him it was not difficult for me to take out my earring, cut my hair and straighten up in general. There were some issues with my flesh because of strongholds I had developed in certain areas, but I did not want to stay where I was. God had to work through me and give me strength, but something inside me cried out, “I want something different than this!”

This was possible because when I was young, I was taught some things that laid a foundation in my life. Even though I got away from that for a while, when God got hold of my heart it was still there. Don’t throw the foundation away, and when the time comes for God to work it will still be in place.

Verse 17 gives us a question about the law. Now since we are not first-century Jews we do not know exactly how they were thinking, but it was probably something like this: “If we identify ourselves as sinners like the Gentiles, does God receive the blame for our actions? We are children of Israel.”

Jews must be saved like Gentiles to go to Heaven. They do not get a pass just because they are God’s chosen people. They are the apple of His eye, but they must be born again. There is a teaching today called separation theology that claims Israel will always be separated, but that is not so. All men must go through the cross.

But the question here remains whether our sinful state is an indictment of God. I wish I had the space to address it here, but God is getting quite a beating in some theological circles these days for various things. “If God were a loving God, there would be no tsunamis or earthquakes,” they say after a catastrophic event. “I don’t know anyone could serve a God that would allow this to happen.” The opposite end of that theology is the assertion that God is not made at anybody, and everybody is going to Heaven. That is universalism, and it is the source of a massive debate among some of our Southern Baptist friends because of some new emergent church pastors.

Both ends of that spectrum are wrong. First of all, the Bible says that God is angry at the wicked every day. His justice demands payment. Love is not God’s only or greatest attribute; holiness is. That is why you hear the words, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty.” You don’t hear, “Love, love, love.”

God is holding sinners accountable for their choices. I believe that God puts in every one of us an understanding that He exists, and His Word says that those who seek Him will find Him. If someone on the darkest part of any continent looks up at the stars and truly wants to know where God is, I believe that God will go to whatever lengths necessary to make Himself known to that person.

On the other hand, before we blame God for every bad thing that happens on the map, we must recognize that if we acknowledge the presence of God we must also note the active presence of His archenemy, Satan. A recent poll I saw indicates that 80 percent of students on college campuses claim to believe in God – not necessarily the God of the Bible, but some sort of supreme deity. In that same poll, fewer than 30 percent stated that they believe in a literal Satan. By his own design, Satan has gotten himself identified with ghosts, goblins and things that go bump in the night. One of the most notable lines from a popular film in the 1990s was this: “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he doesn’t exist.” Even a growing number of evangelicals deny the existence of Satan.

In this life we are stuck with the effects of sin and its curse. Did God want any of that for us? He designed this world perfectly, and it was perfect until sin appeared. Satan set it all in motion in the Garden of Eden, and all that we see now is the cause and effect of man’s choice to reject God. One day He will take away all of this, but for now we have to deal with it.

All of this leads us to Paul’s answer to the question in verse 17. The answer is, “God forbid.” God did not make us sinners; each of us chose to be a sinner. Not one of us has to sin, but we all choose it. James 1:14 says, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” People do what they want to do because they want to do it. Maybe they didn’t mean to do it in the manner that they did. Perhaps they intended to start with just a little sin. But the consequences of sin are incalculable and left only up to God.

A young man or young woman might set out to please self a certain amount, but over time and because the wiles of the devil, that person goes farther and farther until one day ending up in a place no one ever intended to be. “I didn’t mean to do that,” you say. Well, you did mean to sin; you just never expected it to take you this far. No one ever became an alcoholic without taking that first drink.

If you are involved in something you never planned to be involved in, that is not God’s fault. You are not in a mess because God failed you or put in you some desire you cannot overcome. There is no alcoholic gene or homosexual gene. Now I believe that there are certain predispositions and common temptations or family issues that may come into play, but you will never convince me that God is wrong and He made you in such a way that you must sin. You can’t excuse your bad temper because you are Irish or your alcoholism because you are a Native American. God is not responsible for our sinful state.

In verse 18 we address the keeping of the law. Paul talks about this very intelligently in legal terms, pointing out that after hammering home the point of it being all about Christ, if he were to turn around and say it were something other than Christ it would be a transgression of the law, which is sin. (By the way, any transgression of the law is sin. Just like doctrine transcends generations, so does sin. If it was wrong a hundred years ago, it is wrong today.)

The end of the law is Jesus. It always leads you to Him, because when you come to the end of the law you realize that it cannot save you and was never intended to save you. The law is our teacher. Lester Roloff used to say, “Living the Christian life is impossible outside the power of God.” When you realize that, it reinforces our need for Jesus. The law is meant to point us to Christ, because in and of itself the law never satisfies. The frustration that comes from not being able to live right in our own flesh and under our own power is a constant reminder that we have no hope of meeting God’s standard of righteousness apart from His grace and the shed blood of Christ. In short, it is not about me. It is all about Him.

That brings us to verse 20, which is the conclusion of the law. My life is all about the grace and mercy of Christ, and what I do is not to impress anyone else or because of some weak attempt to accumulate good works on my own. It is God working in me and through me.

How many times have you gone to the altar about some sin in your life, confessed it to God and purposed in your heart to stop that particular sin, as sincerely as you possibly can, only to get right back to it within a day? We have all done that, especially me. Not only did I return to that sin, I began enjoying it again.

Here is what I learned based on those experiences. I have to give myself to God the best way I know how and say, “Lord, I can’t quit this on my own.” Instead of trying to run away from whatever sin or problem is in my life at any particular moment, I just have to start running toward Jesus.

If you went home tonight and Jesus was physically sitting the car with you, and He walked into your home with you to spend the evening, you would have a pretty good night. Since that is not the case, we need to find people who best emulate Jesus in their own lives and make them our most important influences. We should want to be around people are more like Him and will draw us closer to Him than those who would draw us away from Him. If so, we would find ourselves at more church functions and safe activities that emphasize spiritual growth, which would help us live more like we should.

As we focus less on ourselves and our sin and more on Christ, we find that we are not living our lives but Christ is living through us. Quit focusing on what you want to stop doing and pay more attention to what you know you should be doing. When you do that, in time Christ will take away the pull of that unwanted thing and give you more of a taste for what He would have you enjoy. You will never stop if you only think about stopping, because you think about it so much that you will want to start again.

We have made serving God so much about a list of requirements that no one can serve God anymore. It became so difficult that people resigned themselves to the fact that they couldn’t meet the requirements and just gave up. Not everyone is going to be at the same level, but when people get involved at their own level it helps them get victory over whatever needs conquering.

When you pour your life into others and try to minister to them, you will forget about what was troubling you and you will stop doing whatever was such a stumbling block because you will be too busy serving others. Then the law is not a burden but a blessing, because your life is no longer your own, but it belongs to Christ. Let go of that burden and embrace the joy of serving the Lord.

Fundamental Grace Part 5 The Gospel

“But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) 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. Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do. But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. 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. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. 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?” (Gal. 2:7-14)

Notice first in verses 7-8 the COMMITMENT OF THE GOSPEL. The brethren here recognized a great truth. Paul had been given an anointing, or a calling, or a mission to the Gentile world. (By the way, you should be saying “Amen” right now because that is how you had the opportunity to be saved. Unless you have a unique lineage, someone had to bring the gospel out of Judaism so that you could eventually hear it.) The other apostles saw that Paul had the gift to reach the Gentiles, just as Peter had the gift to reach the Jews. God showed them that they could take the gospel to both groups.

They were committed to people. They knew that the mission of the church was to reach the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. God showed them that there would not be angels appearing or mystical writings across the sky to communicate the gospel. A preacher is sent, the message is heard, and people receive Christ. That is how it is supposed to work.

As Christians, we either make it happen or we don’t. The gospel has been committed unto us. Look at II Cor. 4:5-7. “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”

Verse 7 makes it pretty clear. The treasure is the gospel. The vessel is me (or you). The gospel has been to you so that you can distribute it throughout your sphere of influence. God’s plan since creation has been to spread out around the world with this message. We do not build communes to bring people in; we build churches and send people out. There are many methods, but the best one is when you and I share the good news of Jesus Christ to another person in a one-on-one situation.

The apostles were committed for a purpose, and we should be as well. Your main job on Earth is to magnify Jesus Christ through your life. Your chosen vocation, whatever it may be, is simply a tool to help you do that. It is a way for you to meet people.

When people in my church tell me how they have given out tracts or talked to someone about the Lord, it excites me. Even if no one gets saved, they have done their job. It is God’s job to bring them in, and it is our job to get the word out.

One of my men operates a fast-food restaurant and it has become a ministry for him. What a great opportunity he has – many of his employees are teenagers with no knowledge of the Bible, some of them without parents. He is able to answer so many questions that they have about life and about God. The average person on the street thinks his job is to cook chicken, but his main job is to magnify Christ. Of course, he should do a good job for his employer and not steal his time. But when the opportunity presents itself, he should make much of Jesus. That is our purpose.

Notice in verse 9 their COOPERATION IN THE GOSPEL. The older I get, the more I understand the words of Paul Chappell: “Teamwork makes the dream work.” This is not about a one-man show. It is about everyone doing something to further the gospel. In this passage each man went in a different direction so they did not cross into each other’s lanes, but every one of them was getting the job done.

On a recent Wednesday night we had a number of people saved at our church. It started when one man fueled up our bus. Someone else drove that bus, and several people went out and invited folks to come. During the service there were nursery workers who did their part, and anyone who helped visitors feel welcome did something important. For every person who trusted Christ, there were as many as ten people who played a role. It is never about just one person.

I learned years ago that I cannot do it all myself. God puts people in a church for a certain time and season. He knows our needs and sends us the personnel to take care of them. I do not have any idea how much money each family in my church gives, but I have been told of instances where one family moved away and their giving was replaced by another family that came to us at exactly the right time. We are all just small pieces of a large pie, and together we can do so much more than we can do alone.

The CONSIDERATION FOR THE GOSPEL is noted in verse 10. Paul was instructed to preach to the poor, and he noted that he had already set his mind to doing just that.

Look at what Jesus said in Luke 14:12-14. “Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” The point here was not to target the affluent or any demographic group for your own advantage, but to go after those who can do nothing for you.

One day I took a picture of our church buses all lined up in a nice row, and I posted it on Facebook with these words: “The bus ministry is still the best evangelistic tool we have for reaching boys and girls with the gospel.” Many people insist that the bus ministry is only a financial drain, and the rising costs of gas and insurance seem to support that argument. It would be cheaper to stop running buses, but someone needs to go get those poor kids who otherwise could not come to church. Occasionally I will hear someone say, “Pastor, we need to go after the up-and-comers, the one who can bring money into the church.” I learned a long time ago that if you reach children, widows and others who cannot help you, God will send you people who can help you.

God save us from the mentality that we only target a certain culture, demographic or color. If you are not comfortable around all types, then it will take you a few million years to get used to Heaven, because that place will look like a rainbow. As the old children’s song says, they are all precious in His sight.

If you are unfamiliar with a church, take a look at the choir. That is usually an accurate representation of the church itself. Some members come from difficult backgrounds and may be struggling today, and others are more successful and stable. There are all ages, colors and backgrounds. One person who was in church since childhood may sit next to another who was saved out of a messy adult life. It is a microcosm of the entire church.

There was a time when every family that joined a church was a mom and dad with two or three kids. It is almost never that simple anymore. There are so many different family structures now that you sometimes need a scorecard to keep up with who is related to whom. That is the world we live in. If you cannot work with broken families, you will not build a church today. You must have a mindset to work with hurting people and give them room to grow. Not everyone is going to come in with Bible in hand, ready to plug right in as a faithful, tithing member. Some are going to be spiritual infants that you have to bring along slowly and gently. Instead of insisting that they be right with God before they set foot in church, get the heart of Jesus and meet them where they are.

I have found that some of the greatest Christians come from the most difficult backgrounds. Having a consideration for the gospel means that you are reaching people who may not help your bottom line but will make your heavenly line look really good.

The final verses of this passage cover the CONFLICT OVER THE GOSPEL. It looks like Paul and Peter had a public disagreement, based on verses 11 and 14. If you look carefully, you can see that there was a Biblical reason for this conflict.

Peter was exhibiting signs of racism, being friendly with Gentiles one day and then shunning them when his Jewish friends were around, as verse 12 indicates.

Our practices separation for ministry, but not segregation. When we began our current children’s program some people thought we were segregating, but we determined that it was more effective to make separate groups because some children have been raised to be more disciplined in their behavior and already know a considerable amount about the Bible than others. Rather than expel the kids who just can’t sit still or let them scare off some of the other kids, we decided to adapt so that we could minister to them. As these young people grow, we move them to the other department and disciple them appropriately. But we respect everyone regardless of where they come from, and we do not separate based on color.

Paul told Peter that he was treating people the wrong way because of their cultural background, and it was having the wrong kind of influence on others, as noted in verse 13. This is the only negative comment you will read about Barnabas in the Bible. He was a powerful man of God, but he let himself get carried because of Peter’s reputation. This is a reminder to us that our bad decisions always affect someone else who is looking up to us. I am convinced that much of the trouble in our churches is not because of the majority, but because of a handful of people who are influencing many weaker, younger Christians.

Paul gave a Biblical response in a public forum. It was an open sin that needed an open rebuke. A lot of things we concern ourselves with are really none of our concern, but this was not that kind of situation. He also rebuked him personally, not by sending him a letter but by meeting him face to face. A letter does not show tone or diction, and thus it is not as personal. Paul also did not go around and talk to everyone else about it first. The way he handled this situation was a good lesson for those who witnessed it, as they learned how to properly deal with such matters.

I believe that this was a passionate, issue-only rebuke. Paul had no other motive but to see the gospel given to the Jew and the Gentile alike. He wanted only to get this problem fixed so everyone could move forward for the cause of world evangelism. It could be that he raised his voice, but it was his passion, which should not be confused with anger. We would do well to give people a little room when someone is passionate and does not mean harm. The cause of Christ could always use some more passion.

Paul’s life backed up his message in a way that Peter probably took it the right way. If someone has the reputation of a jerk, that is what people will assume in most cases. In contrast, if a person is known to be consistent and solid, he will get the benefit of the doubt.

There are going to be problems in our churches, and good people will say some strange things. If are going to grow, we must learn that good people should have room to disagree and to correct one another when necessary and when done properly.

It is important to remember that Paul stayed within the boundaries of the problem. He rebuked Peter with the precepts of the Word of God. He didn’t say, “Oh, by the way,” and then bring up something Peter did four or five years earlier. They dealt with this issue and it was over.

Too much of what we see in our world today is over preference, pride, and personality. Some people are too sensitive, and others are not interested in helping someone as much as cutting them down. We get our feelings hurt at church so often it is not scriptural at all.

How many church splits are over something Biblical? How many are because of pettiness, or politics, or something so meaningless? I have heard of very few churches dividing over the virgin birth, but plenty who went their separate ways because they couldn’t agree on the color of the carpet. It is petty and pitiful. It destroys churches and breaks the heart of God.

Some things are important enough to fight over. If you are teaching another gospel, that calls for a confrontation. Let’s make sure what we say is right and in the right spirit. The gospel is worth fighting over, but it is not to be trampled over by petty things. Our mission is too important, and we must move forward in the right spirit.

Single Vision Conference 2013 Wrap Up

I really have not had time to sit down and go over all that God did for us at Single Vision this year.  Without question I know it was one of the best weeks we have had yet.  Every speaker, ever session, every sermon was exactly what we needed.  Since I have not had time to write about it, I want to share a letter from someone who attended for the first time and let her tell you in her own words what she thought about the conference!

This is just one of the notes, FB messages, emails, and Twitter messages I have received.  All of them rejoicing over what God did for them during the week! I cannot encourage young adults and their pastors enough to invest in this age group before we lose them to the world or the emerging church!

Hope to see you all at Single Vision 2014 in St. Petersburg!

Culture vs. Doctrine- Fundamental Grace Part IV

“Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. 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. But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: 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: To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. 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.” (Gal. 2:1-6)

As we previously stated, Paul was dealing with false doctrine in the church at Galatia. One of the problems he had to address was the fact that obedience to the law was being mingled with faith, or that one had to have the law in addition to faith in Christ. Another facet of this was the teaching that the believer was kept perfect by keeping the law.

In essence, the law was being taught as a means to salvation and a part of salvation. To counteract this, Paul began the second chapter of Galatians by pointing out some things from years before in his early ministry that had to be settled before the council in Jerusalem, as depicted in Acts 15 and 16.

Consider the phrase “false brethren” in verse 4. Was he referring to saved men or lost men? Look at Jude 4. “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” This passage shows us that ungodly men will slip into the church body from time to time to try to turn it from Jesus Christ. I believe those are Satanic plants – lost men sent by the devil to a church. He would love to take a good church or a young church and corrupt it through someone who claims to be a seasoned Christian but is far from it. I don’t know if the people Paul mentioned in verse 4 were saved, but we know that what they were teaching was wrong.

Some of these men were teaching that Judaism was necessary for salvation, which should not be a great surprise because it was all that they knew before they were exposed to the real gospel. They had been brought up culturally as Jews their entire lives and even after they were saved, they were still trapped by that culture, taking things that were ingrained in them and giving them as gospel. This is what Paul wanted to straighten out, as he had been forced to do in his early ministry.

Let’s consider a few examples of culture vs. doctrine. I prefer the King James Version because I speak English and I think it is the best translation for English-speaking people. If I go to Ecuador and use the KJV, it will do me no good because the people do not speak English. Is the inspiration and preservation of the Word of God a doctrine that we believe, for ourselves as well as the people of Ecuador? Of course it is. That is the real doctrinal issue; the KJV issue by itself is not relevant to non-English speakers (which, by the way, make up more than 90 percent of the world’s population).

We believe in separation from the world. Nearly all of us would agree that Hollywood is more bad than good, but Hollywood is not mentioned in the Bible. It is a cultural phenomenon. If someone preaches a sermon that rails against Hollywood, the doctrine being espoused is not Hollywood itself but rather separation from evil and worldliness.

We would not dispute that soul winning and evangelism are Bible doctrines, but whereas I might encourage you to witness to your neighbor or the guy you meet at the grocery store, that is not a method we would recommend for a missionary in a Muslim country or an underground church in China. The doctrine is the same, but the cultural method is different.

Christ-honoring worship is stressed throughout the Bible, but there are so many different styles that could be included in that. Most of us love Southern gospel, but it is not the preferred style in many parts of this country, let alone other nations around the world. The type of music used in many Northern churches is not my cup of tea, but all of it is honoring and pleasing to God.

Doctrine must be protected from culture, but culture cannot be preached as doctrine. True doctrine will always be right, but how you preach that doctrine will often be in a cultural manner. The true test of doctrine is whether it can be transferred from place to place, regardless of where you are.

In Paul’s case at the start of the second chapter of Galatians, he was dealing with good men who were Jews and knew virtually nothing else. Notice in verse 3 that Titus was not circumcised because he was a Greek. That practice was important to the Jewish people but not to the gospel. It was a cultural issue, not a doctrinal one.

To get a clearer picture of what had happened previously with Paul, look at 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. 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.”

This is what Paul referred to in Galatians. He was telling them, “Look, we have already nailed down and settled what is doctrine and what is preference. We had a big meeting years ago in Jerusalem to do exactly that.”

We must have a SETTLING OF DOCTRINE. Too many preachers and churches today are swayed with every wind of doctrine that comes along. They are swayed by the size of a church or the ability of a speaker and they have no idea what they believe or why.

One thing that has separated Baptists from other denominations over the years is that we have known what we believe, because we didn’t just take someone’s word for it but we got out or Bibles and studied it for ourselves. Sadly, today we often do not follow the admonition of II Tim. 2:15, which says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” That is why we are a Biblically illiterate generation, prone to being confused by every cult that comes down the road.

The Bible says in Col. 1:23, “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.”

None of us should be afraid of Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons who might knock on our door. We shouldn’t fear a casual encounter with someone from the Church of Christ or the Roman Catholic Church because of what the topic of discussion might be. You need to know what and in whom you believe so that you can talk to anyone about your faith on the basis of the Word of God. Often we are intimidated by the world not because of what they believe, but because we are uncertain about what we believe.

To be sure, we have to know our SOURCE OF DOCTRINE. Look at Acts 16:9. “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.” This is the first opportunity for Paul to present the gospel to the Gentiles, which he did under the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Further evidence of our source of doctrine is found in II Pet. 1:16-21. “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

Peter’s message here is that he saw the risen Christ, but we have the written Word of God and that is even better. His “sure word of prophecy” is the same one you hold in your hand on Sunday morning.

Our source of doctrine is the scriptures. Doctrine is never built upon commentaries, or biographies, or anything else written by man. You must build doctrine upon the Bible and nothing else.

The Bible says in Ps. 119:89, “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.” Doctrine cannot only be transferred to other cultures but to other eras of history. From the beginning of the church down through the centuries, as men like Spurgeon and others from years gone by have proven, the truth of God’s Word has never changed. We have the same gospel. If Christ tarries His coming for another two or three hundred years, our descendants can preach and teach the same gospel we are promoting today because it will never change or be altered by culture or time. We do not change it; we allow it to change us.

Look at Isa. 28:9-10. “Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.”

How do you learn Bible doctrine? It is not easy. It takes study and work. Solomon wrote in Eccl. 12:12 that “much study is a weariness of the flesh.” There are no shortcuts to spiritual understanding, and that is not something our fast-food generation wants to hear. We want to know it all right now. I have been in Bible-believing churches for 40 years, and there are some things I am just now beginning to learn because a foundation has to be built first.

I am more excited every year to find other people who can teach me new things. Those people are also smart enough to know that they do not know everything. If you claim to know it all, I am not interested in anything you have to say. If we read the Bible every day, we will learn something from it every day.

The reason we have Sunday school and three main services a week, ladies’ Bible studies and all of the other teaching opportunities at this church, is not because we don’t have enough to do. As the prophet said in Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” The Bible teaching in this church is to equip you so that you can make it through life – so that you don’t get so discouraged that you take your own life; so that your marriage does not disintegrate; so that your children and grandchildren have a fighting chance in this wicked world. If the things of God are not a priority to you, they will never be a priority to your children. If you can take it or leave it, they will leave it and never take it.

We also get our doctrine from the Spirit that teaches us. John 16:13 says, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” An unregenerate person will not learn anything spiritual from the Bible because it requires the Spirit of God to be the teacher. A young person can win an older and much more educated person to Christ because facts and information alone do not work without proper application guided by the Spirit of God, who illuminates what is already there in the Word of God.

Another source of doctrine is a pastor. The third chapter of I Timothy outlines the qualifications for pastors and deacons, concluding in verse 16 with these words: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” The mysteries of God must be proclaimed, and He does not want just anyone to proclaim them. The ones who do that must be qualified.

God has put our pastors here in this church not to make people happy, but to teach them the mysteries. I want us all to be happy most of the time, but we need to be very unhappy at times so that we will become dissatisfied with the status quo and make some changes in their lives.

Teachers are to be a source of doctrine. We need teachers who will make an effort to give their students something worth hearing, and we should have students who are ready to listen with an expectant heart.

Remember the words of Eph. 4:11-12. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”

We all learn doctrine from the church. You don’t learn it from someone you just happened to see on television, because you have no idea where that person came from. We need to be learning from people we know and see week in and week out – people whose lives we can see. If I live like an idiot the rest of the week and you see that, it is a lot more important than the 25 minutes I spend up here every Sunday morning.

One reason the local church is so important is that we don’t just fly in for a weekend to give you a seminar and then take off again. The people in your local church are there day after day, week after week, month after month. That is God’s institution for this day and age, not some radio preacher who asks you to send in your money. People need to stop running around and getting their doctrine for places that are not scriptural in nature. It should be coming from the Word of God, through the Spirit of God and in the church of God.

Notice the SINGLENESS OF DOCTRINE. We referred earlier to the confrontation of sorts that was recorded in Acts 15 over the insertion of cultural issues, particularly those relating to Judaism, into the gospel. From there, we return to the second chapter of Galatians and read verses 5-6. “To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. 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.”

Paul made it clear that he and the other apostles were not changing their minds, but they met privately with some of the leaders to discuss these things. What he is saying in these two verses is that it doesn’t matter who they were; it only matters who God is. Paul and his associates wanted to make certain they were right, but they emphasized that God is the only authority on these matters. The final phrase of verse 6, “added nothing to me,” is another way of saying that the peripheral cultural issues do not change the gospel.

Culture stops and starts based upon boundaries and locations. The gospel can be transferred to any time and place. I can go to any country on this planet, walk into a church that has never seen or heard of an American missionary but has a copy of the Word of God in their own language, and we can be on the exact same page regarding our doctrine.

Bible doctrine is not American doctrine. It is worldwide doctrine. Preferences are cultural and time-sensitive, but the Word of God is applicable worldwide for eternity.

We need to know Bible doctrine. You should understand and be able to explain what a Baptist is and what he or she believes.

Obviously, we should also practice Bible doctrine. Our biggest problems are that we don’t know what the Bible says, and when we do know it we fail to do anything about it. Apathy is killing the church in America.

Let’s maintain cultural standards that protect and promote Bible precepts and doctrine. Hollywood and pop culture are not getting any better. Most secular music being recorded today will not help your spirit. We need to be in the world but not of the world. Too many of us, in reaction to the way we were taught in the past, have thrown out all of our cultural preferences because we hate “legalism.” There are still some things we need to stay away from. The words of Ps. 101:3 are still important: “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.”

Give room to others who do not share our background. In some churches in other parts of the world, if you wore a suit and tie they would look at you like you came from Jupiter. We even have slight differences in various parts of our own nation that can make people take notice.

Too many have no room for others who do not do everything exactly as they do it. What a sad commentary on Christianity. By the way, we are now fighting again battles that have already been fought and settled. There are things here we do not have to reestablish every time a new wind blows through. We must simply reaffirm our commitment to them. We are established in those things, so we don’t have to spend a lot of time on them. We can go on to other things to draw us closer to the Lord so that He might work on us, in us, and through us.