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Daily Bible thoughts 747: Thursday 13th November 2014:

Galatians 5:16-26

‘’Every time we say, ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit,’ we mean that there is a living God able and willing to enter human personality and change it.’’ J. B. Phillips.

The Christian life is not a matter of keeping laws (18). As we have seen, we trust in Jesus to rescue us from sin. (Michael Green once wrote that the very Name ‘Jesus’ means ‘God to the rescue!’) Now we come to the further truth that we are transformed by the Holy Spirit. As we live by the power of the indwelling Spirit, He enables each one of us to ‘’not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.’’ (16). Because of His enabling, we can avoid toxic behaviours such as those described in (15, 19-21 and 26.) Notice that we will feel those desires, but the Holy Spirit will help us to ‘Just say no!’ I think it was Martin Luther who said, ‘’You can’t help the birds flying around your head, but you can stop them building a nest in your hair!’’ The old hymn is spot on: ‘’Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin.’’

There is no doubt that we are capable of such bad behaviour as described in verses 19-21. Verses 16-23 point to what someone has called the fact of Christian conflict. This is a shorter version of Paul’s longer argument in Romans 7. The problem for every follower of Christ is that we still have a ‘’sinful nature’’. It is not surgically removed at the moment of conversion. It will be with us until we die. Just as a crown green bowling ball is fitted with a ‘bias’, and therefore has a tendency to go off course, so do we! We tend to veer off from the straight and true. We have this thing within that wants to sin and likes to sin. It is permanently inside us. At least, it is until we die. We can, for example, want to bite and devour fellow believers. We can feel proud or jealous. We can hate. We can be egotistical. We can have wrong sexual desires. We are capable of terrible things. Each one of us is aware of an inner ‘tug of war’ between the new nature and the old. The war within is real and relentless. A young pastor asked an older, veteran pastor, ‘At what age will I cease to battle with lust?’ The old man replied, ‘Son, when I get there I’ll let you know!’ This fight is ferocious, and it can be deeply distressing to those who long after holiness. The Holy Spirit causes us to desire things that are contrary to what the sinful nature has appetites for, but oh how this inward civil war rages! The Spirit stirs up hankerings after goodness, but the flesh resists furiously. There is no getting away from this fact of conflict.

But the passage also points to the way of Christian victory. There are two clear things we have to do: i) we must crucify the sinful nature (24): this is something we ‘’have’’ done at our conversion. But also, we know it is something we have to continually do. We must live in repentance, dealing radically with all forms of temptation; we have to be ruthless in our resistance, cordoning off all possible highways to sin (Matthew 5:29, 30); ii) we are to ‘’keep in step with the Spirit.’’ (25). It strikes me that these two principles are in tandem. We can’t perform the first without the second. Only by God’s power can anyone hammer nails into the sinful nature. Without that divine energising we will pander to the flesh and let it have its own way. ‘’Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every area of our lives. This means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.

The Message: Thank you that the Holy Spirit is in my ‘corner’ and that He is the ‘Champion’. Thank you that He has got the beating of my sinful nature, and will train me to be a winner.

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Daily Bible thoughts 746: Wednesday 12th November 2014:

Galatians 5:7-15

We have all known brothers and sisters in Christ who at one time ‘’were running a good race.’’ (7). There is always a reason why we find them sitting in a crumpled heap beside the track. It may not be the same one that we find in Galatians, but there will be a cause. It is never less than heart-breaking to see someone drop out of the race.

Something was happening in the churches of Galatia that was not of God (8). The believers were being affected (and infected!) by false teaching, and a little drop of that poison can do a whole lot of damage (9). You don’t need a huge portion of it to wreck the local church. A grain or two on your plate will be enough. The ‘’offence of the cross’’ (11b) is, at least in part, the message that faith in Jesus’s sacrifice alone will save you. You don’t have to add any other good works into the mix. This applies to circumcision – a rite that was so important to Jews (11). Paul was ‘’persecuted’’ because he preached that salvation is by grace alone and through faith alone. Simple trust in Christ will suffice. He reserved the strongest language for those who wanted to pervert the gospel message (12). ‘’Why don’t these agitators, obsessive as they are about circumcision, go all the way and castrate themselves!’’ The Message. Tough words!

The battle for the faith was not something to be taken lightly (Jude 3). There were people who were spreading the rumour that Paul was preaching circumcision. He absolutely refutes this, saying that he would not be experiencing persecution if it were true. The Judaizers would let him alone if that were the case. But he had not given up hope for the Galatians (10), and believed that they would not turn away from the true gospel. He was clear in his mind that false teachers would get their punishment.

As Christian people we are ‘’free’’ (13-15). We are free from trying to save ourselves by our own efforts. We are freed from that self-defeating approach to life. But this ‘’freedom’’ does not then become a license to sin (see also Romans 6). People who misunderstood or misrepresented Paul’s teaching would argue that this is what he said. But nothing could be further from the truth. We are free from a man-made, do-it-yourself religion of works. Even more important, we are free from the guilt of sin. But Paul also emphasises that we are free to live right and responsibly, before God and with each other. ‘’It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom.’’ The Message. ‘’Law works by compulsion from without, but grace works by compassion from within.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.770

Sadly, many Christians have proved the truth of (15), probably without knowing (or remembering) that these words are in the Bible: ‘’But if you act like wild animals, hurting and harming each other, then watch out, or you will completely destroy one another.’’ The Good News Bible.

Prayer: Thank you for this wonderful freedom in Jesus; a liberty to do right and not do wrong. I am free indeed. Thank you Lord.

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Daily Bible thoughts 745: Tuesday 11th November 2014:

 Isaiah 49:1-7

A friend, who has been an energetic servant of Christ, had a heart attack last year, and he had to drop down a gear or two. The pace of his life had to slow. I’m pleased to say that he is now much better, and active again. But he told me (and shared this with others) that for a time he felt he was like the ‘’polished arrow…concealed…in his quiver.’’ (2b).

In 48:16 you read these words: ‘’And now the Sovereign LORD has sent me, with his Spirit.’’ Who is speaking? Some commentators believe it is Isaiah, interjecting a comment about himself and his ministry. But many others think it is the ‘Servant of the Lord’, who we meet in today’s passage. (If that is the case, we have a glimpse of the Triune God in that verse in chapter 48; the One only to be fully revealed in the coming of Jesus.) At first the ‘’servant’’ appears to be Israel (3). However, quite quickly, we see this figure as an individual emerging from within the nation. The servant is an embodiment of a perfect Israel, an idealized Israel. He will succeed in His mission where Israel as a nation failed. Here is someone who will have a ministry to Israel (5, 6a), and also to the world (6b). (Verse 6 has been called the Old Testament version of the great commission. Paul quoted it on one occasion, applying it to himself and Barnabas (Acts 13:46, 47). All believers share in the ‘Servant’s’ world embracing mandate.) Jesus is going to have a worldwide impact (7), but this will follow rejection by His own people (see also John 1:11). It is almost impossible to not see the Lord Jesus Christ in these verses. ‘’He says, ‘’But that’s not a big enough job for my servant – just to recover the tribes of Jacob, merely to round up the strays of Israel. I’m setting you up as a light for the nations so that my salvation becomes global!’’ ‘’The Message. For Jesus, there were many hidden years. There are days, weeks, months we know nothing about. But at the right time, God the Father ‘fired’ Him into the world (2) and what an impact He has had, and will continue to have until that day when every knee bows before Him, and every tongue confesses that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:11). I like how The Message expresses the first half of verse two: ‘’He gave me speech that would cut and penetrate.’’ The Words of Christ have so profoundly impacted human history. When preachers are filled with the same Spirit who came upon Jesus, their words can have a similar impact (Acts 2:37; see also Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12; Revelation 1:16).

Note that God’s glory is supremely manifest in His Son (Hebrews 1:3; John 17:4).

‘’In verse 4, we see the servant frustrated and discouraged; his mission seems to have failed. Yet he places himself in the Lord’s hands; the Lord will surely vindicate him and reward him. All of this came true in the life of Jesus (1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 12:3). And it continues to come true in the lives of Jesus’ followers today. Let Christian workers not be surprised when they meet with frustration and failure; their Master did likewise (John 15:18, 20). But like their Master, they will ultimately receive their reward.’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1049.

‘’The paradox of an Israel sent to Israel is part of the powerful thrust of the OT towards the NT, since not even the ‘remnant’ of true Israelites…can fulfil the boundless expectations of vs 1-13. We are driven to seek a more perfect embodiment of God’s light, salvation (6) and covenant (8) in Christ at the head of his church, ‘the Israel of God’ (Acts 13:47; Gal.6:16). Also the theme of conquest through service, broached in 42:1-4, has begun to sound the note of suffering and rejection (4, 7), which will increase in sharpness and significance in the third and fourth ‘Songs’.’’ Derek Kidner: ‘New Bible Commentary, p.660.       

 Prayer: Thank you God for the wonder of Jesus. Thank you for the light He shines into my life.

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 744: Monday 10th November 2014:

 Isaiah 48:12-22

  •  God is creator and controller of the universe (12, 13). It’s like everything in the universe stands to attention at God’s command. They all salute Him and obey His bidding.
  •  God knows the end from the beginning (14 -16). Here we arrive again at this repeated theme in the later chapters of Isaiah, about God knowing and predicting the future: ‘’None of the gods could predict that the man I have chosen would attack Babylon; he will do what I want him to do. I am the one who spoke and called him; I led him out and gave him success…From the beginning I have spoken openly, and have always made my words come true.’’(14-16) The Good News Bible.
  •  God knows what is best for your life (17). ‘’I am GOD, your God, who teaches you how to live right and well. I show you what to do, where to go.’’ The Message. God’s will is not your worst nightmare. The devil will try to sell it to you in those terms, but in fact it is always His ‘’good, pleasing and perfect will.’’ (Romans 12:2b).
  •  God’s Word requires obedience on our part (18, 19; compare 18, 22): ‘’…the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.’’ Holiness is actually in our best interests. Enjoyment of God’s full blessings is contingent on obedience. ‘’If you had listened all along to what I told you, your life would have flowed full like a river, blessings rolling in like waves from the sea.’’ The Message.
  •  God will bring His people home (20, 21). The ‘second exodus’ theme appears yet again. As the Lord once led His people through the desert, He will do so again. If God has set us free from slavery, this is something to be joyfully ‘announced’ and ‘proclaimed’. In the Bible, ‘’Babylon’’ was a nation and a city, but it also represents this present world system (Revelation 18; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18). It is so easy to settle down in ‘Babylon’ and make a life there. But the call of the Bible to God’s people is to come out. We need to heed this call constantly. We can ensure that we are not ‘of the world’ even as we live ‘in’ it. ‘’This is the first time God (or Isaiah) mentions the name Babylon in connection with Cyrus’ mission. The Israelites must have been doubly confused when they heard this message because Babylon was not even a great power when Isaiah wrote these words. And yet someone named Cyrus (who hadn’t been born yet) was going to destroy Babylon and free the Jews from exile – an exile which itself was a hundred years in the future!’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary, p.1048.
  •  God speaks (12, 14, 16, 17; see 1). Are we listening today?

The chapter closes with the challenging thought that there is ‘’no peace’’ for those who rebel against God. The ‘Good News Bible’ translates this word as ‘’safety’’. The word ‘’peace’’ includes health, security, prosperity, and, above everything, fellowship with God and everlasting salvation. ‘’To forfeit such peace is truly a high price to pay for the momentary ‘’benefits’’ of rebelling against God!’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary, p.1049.

Prayer: I don’t want to live as a citizen of ‘Babylon.’ Help me to live as a citizen of heaven in ‘Babylon’

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Daily Bible thoughts 743: Friday 7th November 2014:

 Isaiah 48:1-11

In this chapter the attention switches back from Babylon to Israel and Judah. It is possible to have ‘’a form of godliness’’ but deny ‘’its power’’ (2 Timothy 3:5). That’s how it was with God’s people at times: ‘’…you who…pray to the God of Israel…But do you mean it? You claim to be citizens of the Holy City; you act as though you lean on the God of Israel…’’ The Message. However, it was all empty routine and ritual. They did not want to know the ‘’truth’’ or live right (1). As Derek Kidner observes, they ‘’…emerge…as hardened hypocrites(1, 4, 8).’’ New Bible Commentary, p.660

God had made many promises to them that had already come to pass (3-6a). The reference is probably to things like their deliverance at the exodus, the conquest of Canaan, and the consequent settling in the Promised Land and flourishing as a nation. God told them many things in advance so that they would not be able to give the credit to idols for these blessings: ‘’ For a long time now, I’ve let you in on the way I work: I told you what I was going to do beforehand, then I did it and it was done, and that’s that…So I got a running g start and began telling you what was going on before it even happened. That is why you can’t say, ‘My god-idol did this.’ My favourite god-carving commanded this.’ You have all this evidence confirmed by your own eyes and ears. Shouldn’t you be talking about it?’’ The Message. Although no-one can prove the existence of God, there is much evidence that points to the Bible being true. Fulfilled prophecy is one of the greatest pieces of evidence that the Bible is God’s Book, and that He really lives. But the human heart can be stubbornly resistant to the obvious (4; see Romans 1:18ff.) I heard a story about a lawyer who lived in New York. One day a pastor was in conversation with him, and he asked him if he had ever considered the evidence for Christ’s resurrection. The legal man said that he hadn’t. Well, would he like to? ‘Yes’ replied the lawyer. The minister took him painstakingly through the compelling evidence. But the story goes that the attorney eventually said, ‘’The resurrection of Christ is established beyond all doubt as a fact. But I find I am no nearer the faith, for my problem is not with my head but my heart.’ If the story is true, that is a penetratingly honest assessment. It certainly is true to life.

God had new things in store for Israel which He was about to reveal (6, 7). These things probably included the deliverance from exile, the restoration in their own land, and, ultimately, the establishment of the Messianic kingdom. God would do these things even though His people had rebelled against Him (8). They deserved to be ‘’cut off’’ but He would ‘’delay’’ His wrath (9). Though they had been false, God would continue to be true and uphold the honour of His Name. Instead of destroying His people, God would refine and test them in the ‘’furnace’’ of Babylonian exile (10; compare Deuteronomy 4:20). In this way God would preserve a remnant of His people and keep His Name from being defamed (11). God’s supreme passion is for the glory and honour of His own Name. Let that desire for His fame in all the earth fire and fuel your life!

‘’God finds his supreme motive in Himself…God’s motive is his character, his name and nature, the maintenance of his honour in the face of the universe…He did not begin to save us because we were worthy or lovely, but because He would; and therefore He will not give up because we prove ourselves weak and worthless and difficult to save.’’ F.B.Meyer: ‘Great verses through the Bible’, p.287.

Prayer: Lord I don’t want to fight you on any issue. I know I can’t win!

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 742: Thursday 6th November 2014:

 Isaiah 47

We are constantly talking to ourselves. This is happening whether we are aware of it or not. We had better take care regarding our beliefs. We are quite capable of lying to ourselves. In this forty seventh chapter of Isaiah we get to hear three things the Babylonians were saying to themselves. They believed what they were saying and they were deluded.

  1. They believed they were secure (7, 8a): They had a sense of invincibility. History shows how wrong they were. God knew they were trusting in a mirage all along. People today can have this same intoxicating belief in their indestructibility. You see it, for example, in young people who drive their cars with reckless abandon, not seeming to realise that they have a dangerous weapon at their fingertips. Many have ended up killing themselves and/or others. But such a misleading euphoric feeling is not limited to the young. The Babylonians trusted in astrology, sorcery and magic, but it could not save them (9b, 12-15)

 

  1. They believed they were superior (8b, 10a): Pride goes before a fall, and here is an important lesson for us. In the church we are capable of feeling that our ministry, our work for God is somehow better than what others are doing. The big danger is that this vain imagining may not happen at a conscious level, but we can have such a superiority complex. The Bible shows that God is opposed to pride, and we should take steps to rid ourselves of it, with His help.

 

  1. They believed they were secluded (10a): They thought no one important was watching and that they would not be brought to book. There was no one who would hold them accountable. How many furtive acts of sin take place, with the mistaken belief that no-one sees? God does see everything and will judge sin (3) if we do not trust in Him to be our Redeemer (4). It is also true to say that although no one may see what we want to hide, ‘truth will out.’ Ultimately there will be ‘no hiding place.’

 

There is no evading the serious note of judgment in this chapter. God used the Babylonians to judge His people (6; see James 2:13), but they over-stepped the mark in their cruelty, so He would deal with them. The pride of the Babylonians led to their downfall. It has brought down the mightiest empires, and it still brings individuals low. God’s judgment can arrive ‘’suddenly’’ (11b) and rapidly (9). Everything can change in the blink of any eyelid.

Look at James 4:6-10, and pray that God will help you to do what it says. (See similarly 1 Peter 5:5, 6).

Prayer: Help me Lord to heed the warnings of this passage so that I do not fall into the same pit. May I remember your law of gravity which says that ‘what goes down must come up’ (Philippians 2:1-11).

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Daily Bible thoughts 741: Wednesday 5th November, 2014:

Psalm 108:6-13

It has been pointed out that in the Lord’s Prayer, the repeated word ‘’your’’ comes before the repeated words ‘’us’’ and ‘’our’’. The very order of the prayer shows that God’s concerns take precedence over our own. It’s a case of God first!

Interestingly, a similar pattern is found in Psalm 108. Each stanza contains a prayer: first that God will be honoured (5); secondly that His people will be delivered (6), and finally that they will overcome in the fight. (12). Again, God’s glory is put before human need, however pressing the latter may be.

So this psalm emphasises something important about how we order our prayers.

But it also shows that prayer gets its confidence from truth about God, and each stanza brings a particular truth to the fore:

  1. God’s ‘’love’’ (4) is constant. His ‘’faithfulness’’ is comparable to the highest reality we observe, ‘’the skies’’, but His love is even ‘’higher’’: ‘’…his loving commitment to us is the supreme reality of all. Hence we can face a crisis with a steadfast heart, with vocal and public praise and with prayer that in this situation he will prove himself to be what he really is (1-5)’’ Derek Kidner: ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.559.
  2. God’s promises cover this crisis (7-9). The Lord had already spoken about the subservience of Edom. We can pray with great assurance when we know our Bibles; when we are clear about what God has said. Prayer, resting on divine promises, possesses certainty. Let’s ransack our Bibles for every promise we can stand on. ‘’Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees, and looks to that alone; laughs at impossibilities, and cries, ‘It shall be done’.’’ The story of George Mueller of Bristol is one of faith knowing the promises of God and being prepared to plead them. Mueller read the Bible through, on his knees, over and over again. It is said that he developed a way of praying that was like a lawyer in a law court arguing a case. Humbly and reverently, but boldly, he would say, in effect, ‘Lord, you must, because this is what you have pledged in your Word.’
  3. His power alone is sufficient for the crisis (10, 13), and in answer to prayer He will bless His people with the needed help (11, 12). As we saw last time, the psalm opens with singing, and worship goes hand in hand with warfare.

‘’This is the best way to fight. Keep quietly in fellowship with God; and when the enemy draws nigh, look up to your ever-present Friend…The heart must be fixed in an attitude of consecration and devotion…Moab, Edom, Philistia, are synonyms for fierce hostility, and recall our besetting sins, our virulent foes, which fall before us when we are in alliance with the Almighty.’’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Great verses through the Bible’, p.233.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for the significant truth that victory over every enemy is possible through you. Help me to trust in you alone, and draw from you all the resources I need for this day.

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Daily Bible thoughts 740: Tuesday 4th November 2014:

 Galatians 5:1-6 (why not have a listen to the talk on Galatians see talks page)

Here are two balanced points to hold together in our understanding:

  1. Faith does not need the addition of works to save a person: The Judaizers were saying to the Galatian believers, ‘You need Christ plus circumcision to be saved.’ Paul’s reply was adamant: ‘No, you need Christ only.’ Paul’s message was about ‘’grace’’ (4) and ‘’faith’’ (5). A person becomes a Christian because of God’s grace (His undeserved favour) and through faith. God doesn’t ask you to be circumcised to belong to Him, or to do anything else, but to trust in Christ alone. It really is that simple. Paul saw that their pre-Christian lives under the Jewish law had been one of carrying a heavy burden – ‘’a yoke of slavery’’ (1). Having been set free by Christ from trying to earn God’s favour, he urged them not to return to ‘the land of bondage.’ Keith Green recorded an album some years ago which was entitled, ‘So you wanna go back to Egypt?’ That was Paul’s question!

 

  1. Faith without works is dead (as the apostle James would say, verse 6): You don’t need to add any good works to faith in order to become a follower of Christ, but, (and here’s the subtle, nuanced balance we need to maintain) as a person of true faith you will manifest this in good deeds (Ephesians 2:10). You’re not trusting in the good deeds to get you saved; but as a saved person you will do good deeds. Faith in Jesus will be accompanied by the fruit of Jesus’ own character reproduced within. We will see more of this shortly. Faith will express itself ‘’through love’’ (6; see Romans 5:5 and James 2:14, 17). People of faith in Jesus have a growing love for God and for others, by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament law is fulfilled in them. It is written on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). They are not trying to keep the law in order to get right with God, but they do keep it as the overflow of God’s life within them.

The point has been well made that to fall ‘’away from grace’’ (4) does not mean to lose your salvation. It means to move out of the sphere of grace and operate in the realm of law. It is to substitute regulations for a living relationship with Christ. Beware of any teaching that bases your acceptance with God on any kind of religious performance.

As the hymn-writer said: ‘’Nothing in my hand I bring; simply to thy cross I cling.’’

Prayer: Lord, I sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that what I do can make me more acceptable to you. Today I am reminded that my acceptance with you is all because of you. It is based on faith in the finished work of Christ, and even that faith is your gift. Thank you for your amazing grace! But I also ask that you will keep me from falling into the trap of thinking that it doesn’t matter how I live because you accept me. I recognise that it does, and that by the power of the Holy Spirit I will go on being changed. I want to fully co-operate with you in this work of transformation.

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Daily Bible thoughts 739: Monday 3rd November 2014:

Galatians 4:21-31

In this next section ‘’Hagar’’ represents the Old Testament law, and Sarah stands for the new covenant of grace. The challenge for the Galatians lay in this: would they return to slavery, trying to be made right with God through works of the law; or would they maintain the freedom of trusting in Jesus alone for salvation? Would they substitute human effort for faith? There are at least two key ideas here

  • Promise (23, 28): We might say that Abraham ‘worked’ for the son he had with Hagar, ‘’the slave woman’’. Ishmael was born because of human reasoning and effort. ‘’The son of the slave woman was born by human connivance…’’ The Message. On the other hand, Abraham ‘believed’ for the son he had with Sarah. It was biologically impossible for him and Sarah to have a child, but he believed God’s promise that they would, and they did! (Romans 4:18-25). A son was conceived and born ‘’by the power of the Spirit’’ (29). Christians are Abraham’s true children because they also believe God’s promise that they will have a right standing with God if they put their trust in Jesus. Through faith in Him the impossible happens: we are forgiven our sins and made right with our Maker. So ‘’like Isaac’’ we ‘’are children of promise’’ (28). We can try to get saved and fail, or trust for salvation and enter into it. Hagar (and Abraham) represent trying; Sarah (and Abraham) represent trusting. Paul saw clearly that to go back from trusting to trying was a return to religious slavery. That really should not be seen as a viable option for anyone in Christ (30). We want to put distance between ourselves and any form of slavery (30; see 5:1; Genesis 21:10, 12-14). As Abraham ‘got rid’ of Hagar, Paul says the Galatians should rid themselves of the Jewish false teachers (and their teaching) who were wanting to take them back to the law and bondage.
  • Persecution (29): The persecution of Isaac by Ishmael was a foreshadowing of the difficulties (in Paul’s day) created for true believers by the Judaizers (those with a message of ‘works righteousness’.) Paul taught ‘believe and you will receive’. Salvation is by faith in God’s promise. But his opponents taught the need for human effort for salvation. Faith alone was not enough. It had to be supplemented with certain good deeds, such as circumcision. So the Christians were experiencing this painful antagonism: ‘’Isn’t it clear that the harassment you are now experiencing from the Jerusalem heretics follows that old pattern? The Message.

‘’God’s promise – that is, His word – is powerful. It is a living word. It gives life. Through God’s word Sarah gave birth to a child, Isaac, even though she was ninety years old! In the same way, through God’s word of grace, THE Galatians have been born by the power of the Spirit (verse 29). They too are citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, the true offspring of Abraham, not by natural descent but by the grace of God. Why should the Galatians now turn back and seek to live like children of Hagar the slave woman?…Let us not throw away the grace of God by putting our faith in the works of any law or any religion. Let our faith be in Christ, and in Christ alone.’’ Tom Hale: ‘The applied New Testament Commentary, p. 715. ‘’…to live by grace, through faith, gives one a free and fulfilling Christian life…you and I need to beware lest Ishmael and Hagar have crept back into our lives. If they have-let us cast them out.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘The Wiesbe Bible Commentary’ (NT), p.570.

Prayer: Thank you Lord that our salvation does not depend on works. We could never know if we had done enough good works. I am so grateful for the freedom that simple trust in Jesus brings.

 

 

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