Let's not repeat the past...

It is hard to believe that 2017 is here already! Where has, the time gone? As I sit here thinking back on the events that transpired over the past year and I look forward to the things yet to unfold over the course of the next; I am reminded of just how great our God is.

Paul did the same in Galatians 4. He steps back from his criticisms of their weakness and addresses them as brothers. Galatians 4:8-31 can be quite difficult for us to grasp yet it bears no less importance for us to understand. In this passage, we see several warnings, warning the churches to be wary of what they do and who they follow as things might not always be as they appear. The Judaizers he warns them in 4:17 are “enthusiastic for them” but not for any good reasons. Have you ever known someone who was very excited? Someone who seems very passionate about your well-being, about your beliefs? Yet, the more you learn about them you realize that they never really had your best interests at heart, they were looking out only for themselves and the things that concerned them?

This is what was going on in the relationship between the churches in Galatia and the Judaizers. Paul encourages his brothers in Galatia that it is good to be excited, it’s good to be passionate, but make sure your passions are in the right place. We should be enthusiastic for the truth.

Something else key that we see in this passage you have to back up a few verses to see it laid out for us. Looking at 4:9-11 Paul says: “But now, since you know God, or rather have become known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and bankrupt elemental forces? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? You observe special days, months, seasons, and years.  I am fearful for you, that perhaps my labor for you has been wasted. "

What on earth is Paul talking about? He is again expressing his bewilderment at their proclivity to wander. The Galatians were repeating the same mistakes, they were falling back into the same pattern however Paul here is addressing the Jewish special days, the elements of the Jewish faith.  The Christians in Galatia weren't Jews they were Gentiles, and yet Paul is calling these Jewish traditions “weak and bankrupt elemental forces” wow… That is a bit harsh, but it is true none the less. 

Now hear me on this, the observation of the special days, the traditions, the seasons in and of themselves are not the problem. It is the reason why they were attempting to adhere to them. They were pursuing these things with the goal of gaining favor with God. They went from pursuing pagan traditions for closeness to God to following the One True God, to following Jewish traditions... same mistakes, different approach... 

Think about it like this, Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, these are all important dates and seasons on the modern Christian calendar each year. Now if you were to approach any of these days or seasons with the mindset that by observing them you are gaining God’s favor you are falling into the same deception that the Galatians were in the first-century church. Take this a step further, though. Think about your daily walk. Your prayer time, your bible study, your trips to church to worship, your service at church or in the community. If you do any of these things for any other reason than to give glory to God, if you do them with the hope to make yourself more favorable in God’s eyes you are doing them for the wrong reason, and you have repeated the Galatian's mistakes.

It's not the day or the action it's the intent. Remember, God’s favor in you is not found in your performance for him. God’s favor for you is a result of the presence of Christ in you, made possible by Christ’s performance for you.

Embrace that with me this year as we grow together in our walk.

Remember it is:


Sola Gratia (saved by grace alone)Sola Fide (through faith alone)Solus Christus (in Christ alone)Sola Scriptura (according to scripture alone)
Soli Deo Gloria (for the glory of God alone) 

Sons of God

This time of year, much is made of the coming of the Christ Child and rightly so. We celebrate the birth of Jesus as we should because without the arrival of Christ mankind has serious a problem, we cannot be made right before a righteous God.

Galatians 3:26-4:7 is an amazing Christmas passage because it not only talks about the purpose of Christ’s journey it brings us into that picture. Take a look -

…for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ like a garment. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise. Now I say that as long as the heir is a child, he differs in no way from a slave, though he is the owner of everything. Instead, he is under guardians and stewards until the time set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were in slavery under the elemental forces of the world. When the time came to completion, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Notice something the Paul does not describe us here as sons and daughters of God; nor does it describe us as more gender-neutral children of God. We see that elsewhere but this text is expressly referencing sons, and there's a reason behind that.

This isn’t a male vs. female issue either, it is not that Paul is being chauvinistic and simply ignoring the ladies in the room.

Paul has a purpose, and that is to ensure his readers knew that the ground was equal at the foot of the cross. If you think about it, more it was common in the first century, and still is very common in many cultures around the world that it is the son who receives the inheritance in a family.  

If you look back over the rest of Galatians 3 what did you see illustrated? The promise carried from Abraham to Moses to Christ. How? It was carried by an heir. Abraham's son Isaac, son Jacob, and so forth.

So, when we get to Galatians 3:26-4:7 and Paul is talking about adoption and sons, he's talking about receiving an inheritance that would be reserved for a son.

Now I’ve heard many bloggers and authors attempt to pervert this passage in recent days, but the truth of what Paul is saying is that “it doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter what your gender is, it doesn’t matter what your socioeconomic status is, it doesn’t matter what your ethnic identity is.

All that matters is this, that you are, in Christ, a son; and as a result of being a son, in Christ, you receive an inheritance.”

The pure and simple fact here Paul is being counter-cultural here because he is saying that every follower of Christ has the same rights and privileges in the family of God. Those of a son. Does not matter if you are a man or a woman, does not matter if you are rich or poor if you have placed your faith in Christ Jesus you have the rights and privileges of a son, Paul is saying that we're all in this thing together.

This is not something that is just automatic, we are not just universally sons of God. This is a privilege that we can enter into because God sent His Son so that we might receive the position of sons.

This is what we see illustrated in Galatians 4:4, "When the time had fully come, God sent his Son..." You get on later, it says, "So we might receive the full rights of sons."

What an incredible promise for us to study on Christmas morning!

I hope to see you this week in worship! If you can’t make it be sure to log on to Facebook and stream the service.

Merry Christmas! 

What's the Purpose?

One of the joys of having young kids is you are always being asked why. Why this or why that. How does this work? Why do I have to brush my teeth? Why do I have to eat my vegetables? Sometimes it can get a bit overwhelming. 

This time of year we are always talking about things like what is the purpose of Christmas? Or what is the purpose of Advent? 

The last few weeks the Apostle Paul has offered three arguments revealing the shortfalls of the Law. This week Paul offers the real purpose behind the law.

Paul starts off asking a question which I imagine was purely rhetorical in nature. He asks those in Galatia "Why then was the law given?" He knew that they knew the answer but to be certain they were all on the same page he follows it up with an explanation. 

The law was given because of sin. Sin prevented Man from having a right relationship with God, and God needed the means of making man aware of his sinfulness in which they would understand the sheer impossibility of being justified on his own. 

Paul further explains that the law was not given to give life but to reveal the confining nature of humanity on our own apart from God. Paul states that the law in a sense is our "guardian until Christ" meaning that the law is our tutor or our teacher, a legally appointed overseer, authorized to train (bring) up a child by administering discipline, chastisement, and instruction.

Why then was the law given? To reveal our need for a savior to be born and to point us to him that we might be justified before God.

Hope to see you Sunday!

Galatians 3:19-26
"Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. The law was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator. Now a mediator is not for just one person, but God is one. Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly be by the law. But the Scripture has imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."

Do you have a ticket to ride?

As I was in preparation for this week, I came across this illustration that fit so aptly in regards to the debate between faith and works to ascertain salvation.

I’ve heard it often said that “It doesn’t matter what you believe; it’s how you live that counts.”

Adoniram Judson Gordon, a Baptist preacher in the 1800's and founder of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, encountered this philosophy one time as he talked with a fellow passenger on a train. The man believed he could get to heaven by his good works. Pointing to the conductor who was making his way through the coach, Gordon asked his new friend, “Did you ever notice how carefully he always examines the ticket but takes no pains whatever to inspect the passenger.” The man immediately caught the significance of the question. He had just been saying that God was interested only in what we do and not in a “little bit of theological scrip called faith.”

“You see,” continued Gordon, “the passenger and the ticket are accepted together. If he doesn’t have one or has the wrong one, he will be asked to get off the train—no matter how honest he might appear to be. Just as the ticket stands for the man, faith stands for you.”

It doesn’t matter how many good deeds you do over the course of your life. In the end, if you don’t have faith the conductor won’t allow you to get on the train bound for glory.

This is what we see in the message that Paul taught in Galatians. Paul’s message echo’s what is shown throughout the rest of the Bible.

We see a lot in this week’s passage, take some time before Sunday to read it and come ready to explore its importance to our faith!

Galatians 3:15-18

Brothers, I’m using a human illustration. No one sets aside or makes additions to even a human covenant that has been ratified. Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say “and to seeds,” as though referring to many, but referring to one, and to your seed, who is Christ. And I say this: The law, which came 430 years later, does not revoke a covenant that was previously ratified by God and cancel the promise. For if the inheritance is from the law, it is no longer from the promise; but God granted it to Abraham through the promise.

Redeemable Value

I have some very special collections in my office. If you come to see me, you will see my books dating back to the mid-1800's. All the Orange and Blue makes it evident where my sports allegiance lies. But there is one collection that you might miss upon first glance, and that is my
Coka-Cola bottles. In my travels on mission trips, one of the things that I always look for to bring home with is a glass bottle (or in the case of Cuba an aluminum can) of locally bottled Cola. 

Something you notice when you start looking at the glass bottles (even plastic bottles nowadays) is the detail that they provide. You get the product name and manufacturer of course. They also include the nutritional value, ingredients, often the bottling location. But there is usually one more little tidbit of information. How much that bottle is worth in redemption value to the manufacturer. 

My foreign made Cola bottles are printed in Creole, Thai, and Spanish thus it 's hard to know what their redemptive value is, however, the water bottles on my desk each are worth .5 cents each. Not very much but if you were able to collect enough of them you might be able to buy an ice cold coke. 

 In Galatians 3:13-14 Paul pens these beautifully powerful words:

"Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written: Everyone who is hung on a tree is cursed. The purpose was that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles by Christ Jesus, so that we could receive the promised Spirit through faith."

This is of critical importance. Because just as those bottles have a redemptive value, you and I also have a redemptive value. What is your life worth to God you might ask? 

His Son. 

It's that simple. 

Your life, my life, the eternal lives of all those who have believed as Abraham from the beginning of time till the Lord comes back to claim His bride share the same redemptive value. 

The life of His one and only Son. 


This was a price that Jesus readily paid to redeem you to the creator that you might share in the eternal blessings of dwelling in the presence of The Most High.


Knowing this should significantly impact the way in which we live our lives.  The question you have to answer is has it? 

See you Sunday!