A Vital Truth

 

After years of reading through the Bible and the past two years of reading Stephen Charnock’s incredible book on the attributes of God, I’m noticing one spiritual truth that seldom is preached or taught. I’m also noticing that out of that omission comes many misguided notions about God and about ourselves and our responses (or not) to His Word.

What seems to be absent is clarity on the meaning and application of this passage:

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:13–26, italics mine)

This is not a new teaching. The prophets spoke to God’s OT saints about their inability to please God because they were not filled with the Spirit, and were instead walking in the flesh.

I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. (Jeremiah 10:23)
For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.” (Jeremiah 11:7–8)
But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive. (Jeremiah 13:17)

This distinction is connected to the “rules” in the NT that are intended to show the difference made when walking in the Spirit or not. One application concerns prayer:

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:3–4)

God also told His people that they were set free from bondage in Egypt, but He had to give them “rules” because they were not living like they should. Isaiah defines sin as simply doing our own thing rather than obeying God. 

The NT picks up on that. We are set free from sin when we are born-again, then told to be Spirit-filled so we can obey Him. However, far too many do not realize how that works, or that  fleshy activity is really doing our own thing. It is only when selfish living deepens into grossly  immoral or illegal action that we call it sin, but seldom is “I will do it myself” called sin like it was called in the OT. For that reason, the NT is also filled with “rules” about how to live as a person set free from sin… we should know what it means to walk in the Spirit or at least know when we are not and confess it (see 1 John 1:9).

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

The biblical truth that I should do all things for God and His glory. This includes giving thanks rooted in the excellency of the Giver rather than merely for His good gifts. If gratitude is more about answered prayer and personal comforts and desires, it is likely disguised idolatry. This is one example only. If the fruit of the Spirit is absent, something needs to be confessed.

PRAY: God grant me a heart to delight in You for who You are — so all my gratitude for Your gifts, all my decisions, words, actions and motivations are for Your glory — and I will not twist any of it to make myself the focus and dismiss or forget Your excellence. Amen.  

My Hero

 

This week life handed us an unpleasant surprise that seems without solution. We keep putting it in the hands of the Lord with the word DELIVER in mind, not just for us but others involved.

“Deliver” is one of those terms in the English language that can mean many things. My Bible software reveals this is true in both Hebrew and Greek, the original languages of Scripture. It can mean surrender someone to another authority, rescue, give, give over, bring into another state, rescue, deliver, betray, free, and possibly more as I gave up looking after finding several thousand verses that use of deliver.

Most of them apply it to God in some way. While He does deliver people over to their enemies and is generous to give (more than 2000x use this meaning) the terms “to rescue” and “to set free” appeal to me today, probably because of the above-mentioned problem.

The Greek word meaning “to free” is used in three interesting ways:

1) Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he (Jesus) himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. (Hebrews 2:14–15)

In these days of pandemic lockdown, fear seems to govern many decisions. People fear the discomfort of being sick and many are afraid of dying. Jesus came to destroy the devil who has the power of death so that we can be assured of eternal life and be set free from that fear.

2) And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. (Acts 19:11–12)

As for the fear of illness, Jesus illustrated His power in healing. He did not use medicine although He can, but merely let mere pieces of cloth do it. Sometimes deliverance comes in odd and unusual ways!

3) As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. (Luke 12:58)

This verse hits home in that we are threatened by an accusation. God says to work for some sort of an agreement with the accuser rather than let this thing go any farther. The idea here is being free, not passively waiting for a gift or a rescue from God but doing whatever is needed to settle the issue. The previous verse says, “Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?” Good advice.

That said, there are many examples of God rescuing or delivering His people without us doing anything. For instance, In Acts 12 and 26, Peter was set free from jail and Paul was rescued from a mob because the Lord made both deliverances possible. He told Paul He would be “delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” (Acts 26:17–18) That same promise is to all people:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Galatians 1:3–5)

Another Greek word has a similar meaning of being rescued, either from the darkness of sin, or the wrath to come. It is also used to describe the truth God reveals to us about His deliverance and His power to deliver:

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13–14)

. . . . and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:10)

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. These thoughts are reassurance. Since God delivered me from sin and the power of death, the other problems in this life are trivial in comparison. I need not be anxious about anything. He is Lord of all and my Stronghold, my Deliverer. He will guide us through whatever happens and I can rest in Him to do whatever is right. He sets His people free, not necessarily from trouble but certainly from irrational fear.