Bewitched!

Galatians 3:1-3

Paul was not in the habit of calling his brothers and sisters names, but in Galatians chapter 3 he calls the church “foolish”. His frustration was not because they were committing sins or living immoral. If that were the case, he would have blistered the Corinthian church! His statement is aimed at their having removed themselves from the message of justification by faith alone and adding works into their salvation.

The Galatians were guilty of a very common problem in the church today; they believed that anyone could be saved by simple faith, but that it took works on the part of the believer in order to go on to perfection (Galatians 3:3). Most Christians have a firm belief that salvation comes by faith alone but they feel that in order to be a “better Christian” one must adhere to a set of rules and regulations and that the one who does them better will be greater than the rest.

Paul confronts this idea by asking a pointed question: “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?” (Galatians 3:5) He is questioning how people function under the anointing. When you hear someone preach under the power of the Holy Spirit and work miracles, do they do it because the keep the law better than everyone else or because they hear of the finished work of Christ?

Calling the Galatians, “foolish” is not Paul mocking them, but pointing out how easily they have been deceived into going back into the works from which they were set free. Two chapters later he will remind them to, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1). It is necessary to “stand fast” in your liberty because there are many things in this world that will knock you off of the liberty of grace and onto the foundation of your own abilities and works. When you go back to your own ability to save yourself, you are going back under the yoke of bondage, “entangled again”.

The word “bewitched” is “baskaino” in Greek, and it means “hypnotized”. Paul had preached the sacrificial, finished work of Jesus in front of the Galatians with such emphasis, it was as if Jesus had been “crucified among you” (Galatians 3:1). He cannot imagine that they could then easily turn back to their own works. It was obviously the work of enchantment by the powers of darkness that would cause these believers to trust in the law to keep them from sinning.

When a believer trusts their ability to keep the law in order to achieve some form of higher sanctification, they place themselves back under the curse that Christ died to deliver them from. “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all the things which are written in the book of the law to do them” (Galatians 3:10). It is important to note that Paul does not say that he who sins is under the curse of the law, but rather, he who tries to keep the law is under the curse. By attempting to keep the law in order to be sinless, you actually go back under the curse that Jesus lifted (3:13). Do not be foolish today, but be free!

Left Over Grace

2 Corinthians 4:15

Paul states that he does all things for the sake of the Corinthian reader (thus, for you and I as well), so that the “abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 4:15). This return to the idea of “abundant grace” is typical for the ministry of the Apostle Paul, as he is the original minister of God’s covenant of goodness and grace and he is a constant encourager of believers to accept this abundance of God’s grace (Romans 5:17).

The usage of the word “redound” is a new addition to the King James translation, as it never appears in this form anywhere else. The word actually means “abound or left over or overflow” when rendered from the original Greek. In its Greek form it does show up elsewhere in the New Testament, most commonly as the word “abound”. So while the word may be new to the reader in this passage, the concept is not new. In fact, when coupled with the phrase found previously in this same verse, we have another tremendous example of Paul’s concept of grace. Look at it in its entirety:

“For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 4:15).

“Abundant grace” in this passage is the same Greek word used in Romans 5:20 when Paul tells us that where iniquity does abound, “grace doth much more abound”. The word is ‘pleonazo’ which means literally, “super abound”. He is telling us that super abundant grace will be given in a measure that is greater than our capacity to use “through the thanksgiving of many”. When we live our lives with thanksgiving, we are allowing abundant grace to work in us in a measure that super-exceeds our need. Hallelujah!

Our thanksgiving brings increased grace which also serves an even greater purpose which is “to the glory of God” (verse 15). All things pertaining to God’s grace will ultimately bring glory to the Father. This is the litmus test of true grace preaching and teaching. If man is the one who gets the glory and the honor then it is not truly the preaching of God’s abundant grace that you are hearing. It could be a well-crafted motivational speech, or a timely illustration about morality. God’s grace will always bring glory to the Father, and there is nothing that brings glory like Christ’s death at the cross and His resurrection.

Truthfully, the more that true grace is presented, the more glory comes to the Father. When His free gift of salvation is brought to the forefront and His loveliness is presented, He gets honor and glory for being such a great God. Live your life with thanksgiving for His free gift and you will be a walking and talking advertisement for the goodness of God towards mankind. Swim in His left over grace for you today believer, and bring glory to His name.

What Kind of House are you Building?

1 Corinthians 3:12-15

Jesus Christ and His finished work at Calvary are the foundation upon which all of the New Covenant is built. A wise master builder would never dare build a house without a firm foundation, and Paul considered himself such a wise man, “according to the grace of God” (1 Corinthians 3:10). Thus, Paul built his doctrine of the New Covenant on Jesus Christ (3:11).

You and I are building upon the Apostle Paul’s original work in our own lives. Some build using gold, silver and precious stones, while others build using wood, hay and stubble (3:12). Obviously, to build using gold, silver and precious stones, one must take special care and invest heavily in the outcome, while constructing with wood, hay and stubble takes far less attention and investment.

The metaphor of the houses being built does not insinuate that some are more saved than others or that some are building houses in Christianity and are not saved at all. In the New Testament, salvation is always characterized as a free gift, thus there is no way to earn what Jesus paid for. However, the redeemed receive rewards for their labor in the Lord. The reward is not greater righteousness or more justification, for these are complete and cannot be added to. Instead, the rewards are yet to come, and are waiting for us in eternity (Matthew 16:7; 2 Timothy 4:8)

What we do with Jesus and His finished work while here on this earth help determine what kind of house that we are building. Put more plainly, some Christians do next to nothing with the righteousness that they have, hardly even functioning in God’s grace as a victor or a conqueror. They are saved, for their foundation is Jesus Christ, but their spiritual house is weak and shapeless. Other believers have invested in the kingdom of God in many different ways and they are a shining example of faith and victory. These bring great glory to the Father, not because they are better people, or “more saved”, but because they make the temple of God appear beautiful before the world.

Paul says that all of our works will be tested and burned. If they are of the first variety, they will last, for they are built with Christ’s glory. If they be of wood, hay and stubble, they “shall be burned” (I Corinthians 3:15), but the individual themselves will not be. There is no hell to fear for the saint for “he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (verse 15).

What kind of house are you building for the kingdom of God? Only you know for sure, and only you can change it. If you are bringing honor and glory to the Lord Jesus through your life then there is gold shining in your temple. If you are causing people to see you and not Jesus, or are obscuring His perfection in some way, then you are still saved, just living in a temple of stubble. Shine today as a reflection of His glory, for He is your foundation.

Righteousness Without the Law

Romans 3:21

The phrase “the righteousness of God without the law is manifested” must have sounded very strange to the ear of a Jewish Christian in the time that it was written by the Apostle Paul. As far as a Jew was concerned, the righteousness of God belonged only to God and not to man, and further, the only way to even see that righteousness was by the keeping of the law. When Paul writes this to the church at Rome, he is saying that there is now a way to have God’s righteousness without having to keep the law.

The manifestation of this righteousness, or the revealing of it, began in the form of Jesus, “being witnessed by the law and the prophets” (Romans 3:21). When Jesus took Peter, James and John to the top of the mountain and then transfigured in front of them, He was joined by Moses and Elijah who spoke to Him of His impending death in Jerusalem (Luke 9:28-36). Moses is a representative of the law (John 1:17) while Elijah is representative of the prophets (Malachi 4:5), and both saw Jesus manifest as the righteousness of God on that mountain. Having seen this, they must give way to Jesus, which prompts God to direct attention to the Son by saying, “This is my beloved Son: hear him” (Luke 9:35).

Now that the law and the prophets have stepped aside to make way for the manifestation of God’s righteousness, there is nothing keeping mankind from having this righteousness as his own. Paul says that it, “is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe” (Romans 3:22). This places God’s perfect righteousness into anyone who places their faith in Jesus Christ. By His sacrificial work at the cross, we are made to be His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).

If God’s righteousness is our righteousness simply by us placing our faith in Jesus Christ, why do some boast of their position in Christ as if they have achieved it on their own? Some believers act as if they function in more power because they pray more or fast more or study more. Paul anticipated that people would love the justification afforded by Jesus but that they would confuse the results with their own earning and performance. He confronts this in Romans 3:27:

“Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.”

This is no invitation for believers to look lightly upon error and sin. The knowledge that we are free from the trappings of the law is meant to free us from guilt and condemnation so that we will not perpetuate the cycle of works and religion. Our freedom from the law will never cause us to go back into sin, for when we exchanged law for grace, sin can no longer dominate the one who allows grace to reign in their life (Romans 6:14). Sin receives its strength from the presence of the law (1 Corinthians 15:56), so remove the law and you remove sins power. Believers who still feel that it is their obligation to keep the law in order to maintain righteousness are actually empowering sin to revive with force in their life (Romans 7:9).

Remember that righteousness is not an attribute of God, nor is it the attitude of a Christian. Righteousness is Jesus Christ, for He was manifested in front of the law and the prophets. As Jesus is, so are you in this world, so being free from the law you are in Him and He is in you. Hallelujah!

Ananias and Sapphira

Acts 5:1-11

When the Lord began to reveal to me the revelation of His abundant grace and goodness, it was a marvelous journey. It was akin to being saved all over again, as I saw just how much that the finished work of Christ had truly been finished. I was thrilled to learn new things about His forgiveness and His mercy as I searched the scriptures afresh. In His grace, life is truly abundant.

One passage that troubled me as I grew in this knowledge is found in the fifth chapter of Acts and it concerns the deaths of Ananias and his wife Sapphira. This story is an obvious case of God killing someone post-Calvary and it seemed very reminiscent of God’s dealings with Israel in the Old Testament. It seemed as if every day God was opening up His covenant to me showing me that He is no longer mad at mankind and that He had been appeased by the death of His Son on the cross, so why was He so obviously killing two of His children in Acts 5?

After much prayer and study, and several journeys into every commentary that I owned, I had nearly concluded that I would not find the answer. Nearly every commentator mentioned God’s wrath against sin and how some sins were so grievous that God would kill you on the spot if you committed them. Others taught that this story is a warning to the church that there is only so far that you should push God before people begin to die as part of His swift hand of judgment. I could not in good conscience accept these answers and still see God as having been propitiated at Calvary. Propitiation is “satisfaction”, and if God was satisfied, how could He punish a believer for failure?

The answer is found in the question that Peter asks Ananias, after Ananias lies to Peter concerning the price of the land that he has sold. “Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost?” is a question that reveals who Ananias is. No believer can be filled with the Spirit of God and with Satan, for there is no room in the heart for two masters (Matthew 6:24). If Satan had filled their hearts then we know that Jesus did not live there.

The author of the book felt the same way apparently, as he refers to Ananias as “a certain man” in verse 1. Only non-believers were referred to in this generic way in the book of Acts (Acts 10:1; 16:16) with believers being “certain disciples” (Acts 9:36), or “certain prophets and teachers” (Acts 13:1).

When a sinner rejects Christ long enough, there is nothing left for them but certain death. Having said “no” to Jesus, they have truly rejected the calling of the Holy Spirit, and have actually blasphemed his conviction. There remains no more hope for them, and they place themselves back under God’s wrath (John 3:36). This is why the angel smites Peter in Acts 12 and it wakes him from his sleep. The angel then smites King Herod in verse 23 and it kills him. When God smites the believer it wakes them up to who they are in Christ, but when he smites the sinner, it is His final judgment on their soul.

Do not have a fearful expectation of fiery judgment from your heavenly Father. You are the righteousness of God in Christ, and your Daddy is looking out for your good. When you fail He is not waiting with lightning bolts to smite you down, but rather He is waiting with a nail scarred hand to pick you up.

For God So Loved

John 3:16, 17, 36

What a great phrase, “For God so loved the world”! There is a world of power and love that is hanging on that little word, “so”. He “so” loved us that He killed His own Son Jesus so that He would not have to kill all of us. He “so” loved us while we were living in sin and rejecting Him that He showed that love off on a hill called Calvary. That “so” love is why we are here.

I personally consider this statement to be one of the most important regarding the grace of God, because it shows us how much that God loves each and every person. There is no love like sacrificial love that denies its own to save another. While a segment of the church clamors to put the Ten Commandments on the walls of our schools and courthouses, where is the focus group wanting to display John 3:16? The luster has been removed from scriptures regarding God’s powerful love for humanity, but we should polish them, and bring it back!

The 17th verse tells what makes verse 16 so great, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved”. The reason that Jesus came was not to condemn the world, for they were condemned already. They could be no guiltier than they already were, and the knowledge of that guilt was not helping them to change in the least. Instead, Christ came to provide a way of escape from the guilt and condemnation. Through His payment at the cross, man would be reunited with God, having no wall of separation between them, if He merely accepts Christ by faith.

As we live for the Lord it is easy to forget just how loved that we are. Sometimes we may think that His love for us is tied to our performance for Him. If we do good, perhaps He loves us more, but if we do bad then His love wanes a bit. Because God “so loved the world”, He gave His Son to save us not only from our sins, but also from our performance. If Christianity were all about performance, then Christ’s death on the cross was a waste of time. Judaism was already about performance before Christ came and died, but His death was the culmination of His perfect performance. Because He performed perfectly, you and I partake in His perfection.

John writes, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36). Our performance has nothing to do with receiving the life that lasts forever. Our faith in Jesus Christ is the sole requirement, while the lack thereof will place us underneath the wrath of God. Since God’s wrath was poured out on Jesus at the cross, there should be none left for us. Stay in Jesus by faith and you are free from any judgment.

To comprehend how great God’s “so” love is for us, we should consider the magnitude of His giving His only Son. There is no one on the planet that I would sacrifice my son for, so I cannot fathom this type of love, yet God did it so that I could go free. Receive a revelation of His “so” love for you today and watch as the chains of condemnation fall from your heart and mind.

The Marvel of Jesus

Luke 7:1-10

Yesterday, we looked at Jesus’ statement to His disciples concerning their lack of faith during the storm. We also contrasted that faith with the faith of the centurion who requested that Jesus simply, “speak the word” so that his servant may be healed. Jesus called this “great faith”, for the man, though a Gentile believed that he could take as much as he needed from Jesus.

This also marks one of only two incidents that are recorded in the Gospels in which Jesus marveled. When the centurion proclaimed that he believed that Jesus had authority over sickness and could simply speak the word, “he marveled at him” (Luke 7:9). Seeing that there were not many things that caused the Creator to marvel, it is worth noting what those two things were.

The other incident occurs in Mark 6 when Jesus is in His home town of Nazareth, and the crowd becomes offended because of Him, knowing both His family and His occupation. They do not see how the son of Mary and Joseph, who has made His living as a carpenter, can consider Himself a prophet. Jesus, “could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them” (Mark 6:5). Their unbelief caused Jesus to marvel (verse 6).

These incidents show us that Jesus marveled at rank unbelief and at great faith. In both cases, Jesus was fascinated by man’s capacity to believe Him. In one instance, Israelites would not believe even if confronted with miracles of healing. In another case, a Gentile could not help but believe, even trusting the spoken word of Jesus to bring about a miracle.

The marvel of Jesus towards unbelief was aimed at Jews, who claimed to be of Abraham, the “father of the faith”. This marvel shows up again when He speaks of the great faith of the centurion, telling the Jewish crowd that was assembled that He had not found that kind of faith in all of Israel. He is not speaking geographically, but rather spiritually. In all of His dealings with Jews, Jesus had yet to see one who believed Him so completely.

Perhaps the reason for this is found in how we qualify or disqualify ourselves for God’s blessings. The Jew would have been a slave to the Mosaic Law, and would have considered themselves guilty and condemned on a day to day basis. The fact that they knew that they could not keep the law would have disqualified them in their own mind from receiving any good thing, such as healings or miracles. When you think that you are guilty, you do not feel worthy of any of God’s goodness.

The centurion on the other hand is a Gentile, with no Jewish background, thus he is not living under perpetual guilt by the weight of the law. When he requests a miracle from Jesus, Christ marvels at the amount of faith that he displays, trusting that Christ can do whatever He wishes. Without the condemnation of law-breaking, this centurion can see past his own works or lack thereof and look directly at Christ’s ability, thus his faith is “great faith”.

Does Christ marvel at your unbelief or your belief? If you feel that you are unworthy or unqualified for His goodness and blessings, then He marvels at your holding onto your condemnation. But if you believe Him for great things, He will marvel that you are walking so free from the cares of this life. He is marveled with us today, so may we marvel Him with our faith!