Quote for Wednesday 24 April 2024   ^#136

Scripture tells us there is a fearful judgment to come. Consider the power of the voice of Christ, which raises the dead. Jesus himself faced the terror of the Lord. We must tell of it.

What is most missing in the true Church of Christ today? It is in this text: "the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle". Pray that our meetings might be filled with the glory of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

It's a wonderful thing to have freedom, and sad to give it up. In the spiritual realm there are always people wanting to bring us into bondage, the same as in the secular world.

The opposite of legalism is not licence, it is genuine liberty. This liberty is the Spirit-given desire and ability to do what we should do before God.

This is what fulfils the law: a life of love, made possible within the Christian community by the Spirit. In it the law finds fulfilment.

The law does not curb the flesh, it brings it out. The solution to the flesh is the Spirit.

The reception of the Spirit is at conversion. The presence of the Spirit is no guarantee that we are going to guarantee victory. It's not his presence that gives us victory, but when he is president. That is when we enjoy this victory.

A meditation on lessons learnt from Paul's writing to Timothy near the end of his life. The text tells us about Paul's imminent execution in the details Paul shares with Timothy. In the face of such a trial as would melt the hearts of most, Paul instructs Timothy to stand firmly for the gospel of Jesus Christ, as he himself had done.

Chapters 1 & 2 were very personal, with Paul defending his apostolic authority. Chapters 3 & 4 are doctrinal, looking at the docrine of justification by faith. Now we move into the final section, which is practical. Paul defends the life of Christian freedom, because it is under attack.

We can see that in western civilisation today, that our freedoms are being eroded. When you enjoy freedom you don't want ot give it up. This chapter talks about our freedom in Christ, and we don't want to lose that.

Liberty is an important theme in chapter 5. He takes up the allegory he introduced in chapter 4 about the free woman and Jerusalem above, which is free. So he talked a lot about bondage vs freedom and develops it further here.

Paul described to them the marvelous position they had enjoyed as sons and heirs (in verses 1-7) and the wonderful truth of Biblical adoption. He then expressed his concern over their second turn from God to the "weak and beggarly elements", putting themselves under Mosaic law.

Now he makes a passionate appeal concerning a change of attitude. He's going to describe what their initial response to him was and how it had changed.

What has brought about all this change? Can we see the wreckage caused by false teaching?

In verses 21-31 we have an allegory, which is not common in Scripture. This allegory is going to show the difference between bondage and liberty.

Like Isaac we are miraculous births. This is where we are: children of the free, not of the slave.

An outline of chapter 4:
verses 1-7 adoption
verses 8-11 anxiety
verses 12-20 appeal
verses 21-31 allegory

In order to accomplish our sonship the Lord Jesus voluntarily became a servant so that we might be raised to the dignity of sons. Verses 1-3 describe the preparation for becoming sons. Little children need lots of rules (the Law). Mike considers closely the time in which Jesus came, the manner in which he came, and the purpose for which he came.

There is an excellent explanation of predestination in this talk. Mike explains it has nothing to do with unsaved. The topic of predestination is always concerning God's children.

The Lord Jesus would never have been under the law, but condescending grace, he put himself under the law that he himself had made, in order that he might magnify it in his life, and bear its curse in his death.

It must have pained Paul to see the saints in Galatia straying from the truth they had been given. We see Paul's pastoral heart, his care for the churches: Paul the Shepherd, just as he also was Paul the Evangelist.

Next week we will hear his appeal.

Who among us shall dwell with devouring fire? Disturbing thoughts that are disappearing from pulpits and Christian publications, but Jesus taught about it and we must contemplate and share about it.

Downloads: 01

We've been learning how the Galatians are bewitched by false teachers to go back to the law and go back from Grace to embrace Law, as if Grace was not enough to please God. False teaching always disturbs the people of God. Paul shows it is folly to go back to the legal system. We will look now at this contrast between promise and law that is so beautifully brought out in this section.

Downloads: 01

Was Jesus cursed because he was hanged on a tree, or was he bearing the curse of others by hanging there?