See with what large
letters I have written to you
with my own
hand! As many as desire to make
a good showing in the
flesh, these would
compel you to be
circumcised,
only that they may
not suffer persecution
for the cross of
Christ. For not even those who
are circumcised keep
the law, but they desire
to have you
circumcised that they may boast
and your flesh. But God forbid that I
should boast except
in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom the world
has been crucified to
me, and I to the world.
For in Christ Jesus
neither circumcision
nor uncircumcision
avails anything,
but a new
creation. And as many as walk
according to this
rule, peace and mercy be upon them,
and upon the Israel
of God. From now on let no one
troubled me, for I
bear in my body marks of the Lord Jesus.
Brother and, the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with your
spirit. Amen.
Galatians 6:11 -- 18
With the
above scriptures we have now come to the end of this book, Galatians and here
at the end we find that Paul says that he wrote this himself and it is known
that he did because apparently you can only write in large letters that may be
due to some poor eyesight. Regardless,
all in was this letter exhorting that the children of God are free in Jesus
Christ as the letter has stated and that they are not under some form of
legalism that the Judaizers were trying to impose upon them. Circumcision was an important right within
the Israelites people and their religious observance and this because Abraham
under the instructions by God circumcised boys indicating and signifying the
covenant God had made with Abraham. The
requirement for all Christians is to be circumcised on the heart and not
physical circumcision as the Judaizers were demanding. This is not just for boys, but also girls as the
physical circumcision no longer applied as Jesus set forth a new covenant. The old covenant was with the natural Hebrew
people those Israelites of old. Under
the new covenant set forth by Jesus Christ Christians are the spiritual
Israelites, and that is what all authentic Christians are now that the Messiah
has come, died upon the cross, very, rose again, and ascended into heaven to
sit at the right hand of God the Father.
The Judaizers focused on the results and not the means setting forth a physical
activity above why that activity was required and this is a problem when we
focus on the activity rather than on the means the reason why that activity
exists. We are free in Jesus Christ,
that is, we are free not to sin, and we are free not to be under any
legalism. We not glory in the fact that
we have it is as Paul states: "But
God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom the world has been crucified to me, and to the world" (Galatians 6:
14). There it is: Christians,
Authentic Christians, crucify themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ and any
boasting that is done is to boast in the cross of Christ. Paul is telling us that he had a strong
coherence in the Lord Jesus Christ and he can allow his external life to be
changed as it would if he had truly and fully converted to the Lord Jesus
Christ, in other words that he was rooted and grounded in God. Too many of us are not spiritually coherent
and we are more concerned about being coherent externally. Was not this a problem with the Judaizers
and the right of circumcision?
Yes! Too many Christians are
busy with all kind of extracurricular activities that they call Christian and it
is not that many of them are not are not good things, it is that they take a higher
priority and their focus is on the things rather than the means and the means is
Jesus Christ and the cross. We need to
become consistent in the fundamentals, and not the activity. Our agony should be as the agony of God was
and is and that is in the redemption of the world by means of a cross of His
Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ. Our
preaching today is too full of stories and more often than not I know more
about the pastors lives, his children, and great stories and the cross is
somehow left in the basement. It is a
tragedy of the cross that needs to be preached for if we do not do that than we
are not producing anything that God requires and that is to bring the word, His
word to the world. These stories may be
interesting but they have no power and if power is to exist it must be in the
preaching of the cross. It is preaching
of the cross whereby God's power is let loose so that those who hear this word
will believe. Therefore we preach Jesus
Christ crucified. The feebleness of the
church today is being mocked and there is justification in that mocking and one
reason is that Christians have lost their concentration and buy this and lost
spiritual energy. I heard someone say
the other day that he was glad they did not go to a church that preached
"Hell and brimstone and fire" and yet this is exactly what is needed
and not some soft soapy stories. God
sent His Son to die on the cross to save His children and we have been granted
the responsibility to bring His word to the world and this under any
circumstance. And when spiritual
experiences is being taught by many people as though this is what we need they
are wrong or we need the word of God, we need to cross of Christ and we taught
and preached. The Gospel of Jesus
Christ always forces an issue of the will.
Will you accept the verdict on sin in the cross of Christ? Do you have any interest in the death of
Jesus? You want to be identified with
His death? Are you allowing His death
to remove all interested in sin and in the world as and so to be identified
with Jesus Christ? Do not mistake
ecstasy to determine if you are in the kingdom of God for this is not so for
your identification is simply with Jesus Christ.
I thought about my
ways, and turned
my feet to Your testimonies.
I made haste, and
did not delay
to keep Your commandments.
The cords of the
wicked have bound me,
but I have not forgotten your law.
At midnight I will
rise to give thanks to You,
because of Your righteous judgments.
Psalm
119: 59 -- 62
Praise God we are
free in Jesus Christ
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