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Thursday, April
3, 2008
First Class
Galatians 6:12-15 As many as desire to
make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only
lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. (13) For
neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to
have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. (14) But God
forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. (15) For in
Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision,
but a new creature. (KJV)
Whether the old law and its rituals
manifest in the form of circumcision, water baptisms, or any other outward
events, the only thing that matters to God is that new creation within the
believer. If one goes back through the Bible, especially the book of Acts,
you will see that most of the persecution came from those that claimed to
be believers; the problem they had with Paul is that He was bringing forth
a new doctrine apart from the works of the law. As we see in verse 14 the
only thing Paul was holding to was the work the Lord did on our behalf and
anything else was dead and crucified unto him as he considered himself to
be crucified unto any worldly doctrine of man. It’s no longer about the
outward man that is going to bring peace but rather that new creation in
Christ is what has brought forth the restoration and a confidence in His
work and not ours.
Galatians 6:12-15 These men who are
trying to force you to let yourselves be circumcised simply want to make a
fine outward show, only to keep you from being persecuted for the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ. (13) Indeed, the very men who let themselves be circumcised
do not themselves observe the law.
But they simply want you to let yourselves be circumcised, so that
they can boast of you as members of their party. (14) But may it never be
mine to boast of anything but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which
the world has been crucified to me and I to the world! (15) For neither
circumcision nor the lack of it has any value, but only a new creation.
(Williams translation)
Today we see the same thing going on as
the early church; rather than hold to the simple truth that it is of faith
and not of works, so many cave in to peer pressure because rather than take
a stand they fall away into a realm the Lord said was destroyed and done
away. The devil and his workers would like nothing better than to see the
simplicity of the gospel of Christ perverted and complicated with a bunch
of man-made doctrines and rituals, rather than have the simple truth in
Christ. Many today try to seal the deal with these outward rituals so that
they too can boast that you are one of theirs because of something they
accomplished and not what the Lord accomplished on their behalf. So what is
your priority this day; is it feeding and nurturing that new creation
within you or are you still trying to establish a spiritual relationship
based on some outward show?
2 Corinthians 5:16-17 Wherefore
henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ
after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. (17) Therefore if
any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new. (KJV)
This is what we have been talking about
all week, even though we knew Christ according to the old law and its
fleshly or carnal ways we are no longer to observe Him that way. Once one becomes
a new creation in Christ all those old things which He took out of our way
and nailed to His cross is passed away, dead, died and buried. Now our only
concern should be for that new man within us and how to do those things
that are pleasing to God despite what mankind may think or comprehend as
being godly. We should be renewed in the spirit of our mind, having access
to the mind of Christ, so that we can continue to walk in this newness of
life and not the oldness of the letter of the law which is death. After all
when you stand before the judgment seat of Christ someday what is it that
will truly give you access into His eternal realm; the works you thought
would impress Him or allowing Him to do a new work in and through you?
Romans 3:20-22 Therefore by the deeds of
the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is
the knowledge of sin. (21) But now the righteousness of God without the law
is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; (22) Even the
righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon
all them that believe: for there is no difference: (KJV)
Here is your justification, a simple
faith in what our Lord Jesus Christ did on our behalf, not by some works of
the law that we think still needs to be accomplished on His behalf. Where
is your faith truly rooted and grounded in people, in something you are
going to do or in a belief in what the Lord is doing in you? This is a
faith that will keep you in good standing with our Lord so that you no
longer will fall away back into the realm of the flesh, but learn more and
more how to stay seated in the realm of the Spirit. Haven’t you heard
enough testimonies of people that constantly backslide; people that truly
had a zeal for God but obviously it wasn’t according to His knowledge? Many
fall away and find they are not being renewed because they are still under
the works of the law where there is still a knowledge of sin and not a
confidence in the work the Lord is doing within them, they are still
looking without for the answer. And while there are those that are
promising them liberty, many are still the servants of corruption because
of their lack of faith in Christ and the only justification they will find
in Him.
Romans 3:23-28 For all have sinned, and
come short of the glory of God; (24) Being justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: (25) Whom God hath set
forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the
forbearance of God; (26) To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness:
that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
(27) Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay:
but by the law of faith. (28) Therefore we conclude that a man is justified
by faith without the deeds of the law. (KJV)
Justified freely by His grace, that is
it; that simple folks nothing else. We are saved by grace through faith and
not of works, which truly eliminates any boasting on our part. You have
been given a first class ticket to the heavenly realm so that you can
escape the corruption of this world and walk in the newness of life that
God intended for you. Now all that is left for you to do in order to board
this flight is to pass through security and provide the proper password and
documents to get you home. Jesus Christ said that He was the only way home
by the truth which will set you free and give you this new life in Him,
above and beyond what you could have ever asked or thought about. All
aboard?
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