1 Corinthians 11 - Head Coverings, Spiritual Warfare and the Power of the Lords Supper

Whoa!  This letter to the Corinthians is loaded with lots of important topics!
Some key items in Chapter 10 include:
1) Head Coverings, Authority and Spiritual Warfare
2) The power of the Lords Supper

Culturally Bound?
Related to head coverings, many believe these instructions to be simply a cultural instruction that can be brushed aside.  First I think that it is a dangerous slope to view things in Scripture as able to be brushed aside because once we elevate ourselves above Scripture to judge it, we are choosing not to submit to its authority and thus be changed by God's word.  Second, Paul says that a woman should wear the head coverings when she prays or prophesies (v 5) because of the angels (v 10).  The clearest interpretation of this in my opinion is referencing demonic angels, as Paul has already done several times in this book.

Authority: Protect and Serve
Authority is what is in question.  In our post-modern, post-60's era authority in general is questioned.  This leaves us missing an important concept in Scripture and truly in the Kingdom of God.  Jesus commended the Roman centurion in Matthew 8 for his great faith because he understood how authority worked and that Jesus could just speak the word and his servant would be healed.  Jesus granted the disciples authority to heal, to drive out demons (Matt 10:1) and to forgive sins (Matt 9:6).  Authority in these situations is a delegation of the power or authority to do things that, by themselves, a person could not do.  A police officer is just a person, but when wearing their uniform and badge, they represent the authority of the government and can stop traffic with just a hand motion and can arrest persons who are doing wrong.  Their job is to "protect and serve" as is commonly seen in their motto's.  All true authority comes from God (Rom 13:1) and Paul lays out the authority structure from God to Christ to husband to wife in verse 3.  While the delegated human authority is at times abused, it's purpose is to protect and serve.  In this situation when someone is praying or prophesying, they are entering into spiritual battle.  The devil and his angels are waging a war around us, though unfortunately, most are unaware of the battle that rages around them.  As Christians, we are protected by the blood of Christ and by Christ's authority WHEN we are obeying him.  When I tell my children to not go a certain place or to be back at night by a particular time, it is for their protection.  If they disobey my instruction, they come out from my authority and protection and open themselves up to harm.  In a similar way, when the scripture gives instructions for women to have their heads covered when praying or prophesying and they ignore that instruction, they are coming out from under the protective authority of God's word and are opening themselves up to an attack by the angels - the devil's demonic ones.  Angels are bigger and stronger than humans.  We are warned that not every spirit that speaks is God and that we must test the spirits (1 Jn 4:1).  Here we are instructed to stay under authority for spiritual protection.

The Lord's Supper
The Lord's Supper (sometimes called communion) is one of the practices that Jesus gave to his disciples and told them to continue to do to remember his death (Luke 22:19) and most/all Christian churches have some practice that they follow.  In this passage, Paul gives some interesting instructions that tell us about not only the importance but it's power in our lives for good and bad.  Some Christian traditions wrongly hold that participating in communion is a purifying/saving act in and of itself.  Paul warns in this passage that actually when those participating in communion are not taking in a right way, it brings judgement on a person, not salvation and can cause their death! ("...eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died." (v 11:29-30).  He then gives the admonition that we "judge" or "discern" ourselves so that we not be judged (v. 31).   There are two extremes that should be avoided: 1) ignoring the warning thus bringing harm on ourselves 2) taking warning too harshly and thus not taking communion.

First off it would be important to mention the ways that communion can be taken wrongly.  In this context we see two issues 1) selfishness and overfeeding ourselves instead of discerning the needs and situations of others in the Body of Christ 2) a broad 'testing of ourselves".  The broader testing would include things such as Jesus' admonition to reconcile to others before bringing our gifts to the altar (Matt 5:23-24) and Paul's exhortation in 2 Corinthians 13:5 about examining ourselves to see that we are still in the faith - a time of reflection and introspection.  If we examine ourselves and find that there are things we need to take care of with a brother or sins we should confess, then we should go to the brother or sister and reconcile, as Jesus instructed, and we should confess our sins and be cleansed and forgiven (1 John 1:9).  The great news in Christ Jesus is that we have a God who loves us and promises to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness when we confess!

The last point about communion to ponder is this: if taking in a wrong way can bring judgement and death, that demonstrates that it is more than a mere remembrance.  There is power in that ceremony that when taken in the right way can bring blessing and life!

Thank you Father for your blessing, your mercy and your love.  Often we don't fully understand your ways, but help us to submit to your ways and to your word, to be changed and find life in Christ Jesus!

1 Corinthians 10 - Temptation, Sin, and Bad Examples

There are many things of interest in this chapter but I'll hit just a few of them
1) Sins of Israel
2) Temptation and Sin

Sins of Israel
After Paul had told us in the previous chapter to run the race in Christ in such a way as to win, he then describes how most of the Israelites fell short of the goal.  They had all experienced God's great miracles and his presence and speaking to them yet despite all of that most didn't make it.  Paul warns us to avoid the evil that they were drawn into: idolatry, sexual immorality, putting God to the test and grumbling.  The first two we readily identify as sins but the last two are items are a bit surprising.
Putting God to the test is essentially telling God, "if you don't do this, I won't follow you." The Israelites tested God several times demanding food, water, meat.  What is somewhat interesting to me is that the items they wanted were things that God wanted and was willing to give them.  Jesus promised that if we seek first the kingdom of God that he will provide for us food and clothing as they desired.  It is always fine and we should ask God for our needs, but we shouldn't turn it into a demand and say "provide this for me or else I won't follow you."
Grumbling often is the precursor to putting God to the test and other sins, but it is also a sin in itself.  When we are complaining to God or especially to others against God, that is a problem.  When we complain to others against God, we are discouraging them rather than encouraging (Eph 4:29), we are not speaking true or commendable words, but rather false and dishonorable ones (Phil 4:8).  Both grumbling and putting God to the test demonstrate a lack of faith and trust in our Father who loves us and wants what is best for us.  Unfortunately, all too often we complain about lack of what we need, about the long time in waiting for God to act or provide or about specific items such as jobs, spouses (or lack of) or children (or lack of).  I'm not saying that we should pretend that all our problems don't exist.  What needs work is how we approach these things.  Rather than complaining, we should cry out to God who desires to meet our needs.  We should be driven to our knees in prayer rather than driven to the phone to complain.  David often cried out to God in the despair of his soul as is recorded in Psalms.  Even Jesus in his state of anguish and despair cried out to God.  He didn't pretend that everything was OK, but his response was to pour out his heart to God, crying out for help and expressing his dependence upon him.

Temptation and Sin
Some interesting notes about temptation and sin:
1) Pride is a big problem that will cause us to sin: "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall" (v 12).  If we think that we have conquered an area of temptation and are not susceptible, BE WARE! That is for instance why I think that Billy Graham's personal disciplines in regard to sexual temptation that I mentioned in the last post are important.  We need to maintain a humble approach to sin recognizing that except for God's grace and mercy 1) we would still be in sin and not forgiven 2) we'd fall back into the sin.  We read about the Israelites and see their bad examples, but we need to recognize that we are no different.  As Pastor Norm Althausen wrote in a song, we need to not say that if we were there we would have obeyed but rather "believe and obey today.  Do the things we've been told to do and stop saying 'I don't know how.'"
2) The temptations that we face are common to others (v 13).
3) When we are tempted God will provide us a way out.  This is not saying that God is tempting us to sin (James 1:13) but in his faithful mercy, he is making sure that the temptation is not beyond what we can bear.  Clearly God allows the temptation to occur.  The temptation allows us to see what is in our hearts as we see how we respond.  Jesus himself was tempted in every way, yet without sin (Heb 4:15).  So when we see or feel temptation, we should run to God and cry out to him and ask to be set free - lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil (Matt 6:13).

Lord Jesus, give us the grace and humility to recognize our weakness especially where we feel strong.  Help us also then to turn to you for help that we may find your rescue and way out.  Thank you for you faithfulness and love!  

1 Corinthians 9 - All Things To All People, Running to Win

Three things stand out to me in this chapter:
1) All things to all people - primacy of mission
2) Workers in Christ
3) Running to win

All Things To All People
When it comes to focus, Paul knew that his primary task was bringing people to Christ.  His clarity of purpose drove him to change anything and everything else to accomplish that goal.  So Paul first of all made himself a servant to all. He was following the example of Jesus and giving himself up for others out of love for them.  He also recognized that to be effective, different people need to be related to in different ways. So secondly he took the time to understand who he was speaking to and became an effective ambassador (2 Cor 5:20) and spoke and lived in ways that would be relevant to the hearer.  As he says " I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some." (1 Cor 9:22).

You might ask, "Isn't Paul just pretending and putting on a mask?  Isn't that ingenuous and wrong?"  It would be ingenuous if Paul first of all wasn't motivated out of love, not honestly wanting to help those he is reaching out to and secondly if he was doing things that were inconsistent with who he is and what he believes.  Just as you wouldn't go to a beach party in a suit or dress nor to a fancy restaurant in shorts or a swimsuit, we all recognize that different activities, dress and behavior is appropriate for different situations.  Paul recognizes that different people hear things differently, have experienced different things and have different problems and different mental roadblocks.  So among Jews, he went to the temple and synagogues, carried out vows (Acts  18:18) and rites of purification and among the gentiles, he freely ate with them and didn't force circumcision etc.  In Athens he appealed to poets that they were aware of and even an altar to an unknown god (Acts 17:23-31).

As @edstetzer and others have pointed out, Paul gives us the example of how we are to live missionally, always looking to understand those around us and how to communicate to them in ways that are relevant and that they will understand.

Father, give us the wisdom to see and understand those you've brought us to.  Help me to not be caught up in the traditions and external trappings that distract from you, but to be focused on loving and reaching out to those around me.

Workers in Christ
We see here that "the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel" (v 14).  Money is an area where there has been much abuse - leaders stealing from the sheep or living in luxury while the people are struggling or false prosperity teachings - however it is notable that workers in Christ should be paid.  Paul though refuses this right, at least from the Corinthian believers, since he wants to offer the gospel free of charge.  As a passing note we see some interesting facts about the apostles - most of them such as Peter and James and Jude (the Lord's brothers) had wives and seemed to bring them along when they traveled (v 5).

Running to Win
Paul describes a very deliberate physical actions that he took in his pursuit of Christ Jesus.  As we follow Christ, it is not a mere mental or spiritual activity, but it effects (or should effect) every area of our lives, including our physical body.  Paul says that he disciplines his body to keep it under control so he will not be disqualified after preaching.  Types of self discipline that we see in scripture include fasting, waking up early for prayer and study of scripture, memorization of scripture (while mostly mental it takes physical work of memorizing by reading and taking the time to work on it) and solitude for prayer.   Also since he is concerned about not becoming disqualified about what he preaches (i.e. he doesn't want to be hypocritical and preach something that he doesn't live out), he would likely be also including personal physical disciplines that would keep himself free from sexual temptation and other sins he has described.

I personally have been inspired by the example of Billy Graham and Gordon Powlison in the area of sexual holiness.  As a man of God, Billy Graham would not be alone with a woman who wasn't his wife.  When he traveled and there was a woman on the trip, he wouldn't even share a cab with a woman if it was just the two of them.  As a pastor and as a man who is following God, I believe there is a lot of wisdom here.  For myself I don't counsel or meet with women alone.  I don't evangelize women or have lunch with them one-on-one.  For young people Pastor Gordon has given many practical guidelines that I've implemented and found important and effective such as making sure that boys NEVER go into a girls room and vice versa unless they are parents or siblings, boys and girls should not be alone in almost any situation (out in pubic at a restaurant is fine, but not alone in some room or remote area etc).

As we've discussed in previous posts, sexual sin is a big problem for many.  There are many physical disciplines (I've only given a few examples) that can and should be brought to bear so that we can run the race in such a way as to win the prize set before us.

Lord Jesus, help me to run the race and have a singular focus such as Paul had.  Help me to not be distracted by the many siren calls in this world that seek to distract and destroy, but help me to keep my eyes on you and run and discipline my body with you as the final goal.

1 Corinthians 8b - Idols? Demons? Today?

When we read Paul discussing idols and demons in this letter and other places, some people have a hard time relating to or understanding the statements.  Often these are thought of as either problems relegated to times past, far away countries or things that our scientific viewpoint proclaims to be a myth. But just as these were real problems then, they are real problems today.

Food offered to Idols
Paul's statements about eating meat and idols can be confusing if we don't understand some of the historical context of what is happening.  I've know people who determined after reading verse 13 without context that they should not eat meat ("Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.").  To get more context of Paul's comments it is helpful to also look at Chapter 10 were we see more of the historical situation: In those days and in Greece and many parts of the Roman empire, idolatry was quite rampant and people very often sacrificed meat to idols and then would either sell the meat in the market or would eat it themselves and invite guests to join them in a meal. The question then is should a Christian eat meat sacrificed to an idol?  In 1 Corinthians 10:20 Paul clarifies that while idols are not in fact gods and not in any way equal to God, there are demons - evil spirits - that are behind/inside/a part of the idols that we cannot join with (10:20).  He says it is fine to eat any meat that is sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience (10:25).  He also says if you are invited to an unbeliever's house and they offer you food, eat what is given to you without raising questions of conscience (10:27) but if they tell you that the food is offered to an idol, then don't eat it for their conscience' sake (10:28-29).

So there are two reasons to for believers not to eat meat in such a situation where the meat may have been offered to demons: 1) because it may violate the conscience of a younger believer 2) it is participating with a demon.

What? Today?
But you may say "Wait! Aren't the idols not real and thus they cannot affect us?"  Unfortunately that is the incorrect conclusion that Christians sometimes arrive at.  Especially in our scientific/modern era we often have a view that not only are idols not real, but also demons are not real.  I know of missionaries who have gone to other countries and have taken "artifacts" (actually idols) into their homes, thinking that they are just interesting cultural objects, without understanding that evil spirits are attached to them.  Then their family gets affected with sicknesses, tormenting dreams and other mental and physical problems until they get rid of the idol and pray for God's help.  I've even been in such a situation when I should have know better.  On a mission trip to Africa, our team broke into smaller groups and on a given Sunday went to speak at various churches around the area we were visiting.  Afterwards, my host church gave me a gift of some traditional clothing and a cane with an eagles head at the top.  There was nothing wrong with the clothing, but before I returned, God gave Pastor Gordon and Debbie a picture of an eagle - matching the cane I received.  When I arrived and they saw the cane, they told me what God had shown them so I went and got rid of the cane. Then as Pastor Gordon prayed for me, I threw up as God gave me freedom from the demonic influence.  This may sound unusual or even "superstitious" but the fact is that demons are real and we are not to participate with them (as Paul points out in 10:20 and as Jesus drove out many and as John warns about idols in 1 John 5:21).

The distinction that Paul is drawing here is to food sacrificed to idols, which are not the objects of worship themselves and the idol itself.  We cannot participate with idols because even though they are lifeless and are not gods, there is a demon associated with that object of worship and it can negatively affect us.

There is much more that can be said about this, but I'll leave it there for now.

Father, protect us from the evil one and help us to flee from and and stay free from idols.

1 Corinthians Chapter 8 - When Being Right is Wrong

When Being Right is Wrong
Have you ever been so fixated on being "right" that even though you may be right, in the end your actions or attitudes caused more harm than good?  Unfortunately, I've been in this situation more times than I'd wish.  Just recently in a Bible study, of all places, I was so fixated on the "correct" meaning and interpretation that I treated another person in the Bible study poorly and cut them off when in reality their statements were very much in line with the broader context and meaning that Jesus was trying to tell us.  There have been times where I've done similar things with my wife, my children or co-workers.  I may have been "right" but because of the way that I pushed or acted, I caused injury to the relationship that I had to go back and apologize for.

Paul is discussing a similar situation in this chapter as the Corinthians have asked him about food sacrificed to idols.  There is much to say about idolatry and food sacrificed to idols, but the bigger issue addressed here is knowledge that puffs up versus love that builds up.  Knowledge is often focused on "me" - how much I know, how right I am - and love is focused on the other person - how can I help, encourage or build you up. As we saw in the chapter 6 related to lawsuits, sometimes it is better to be wronged or cheated than to push for our "rights" and/or prove that we are "right".  James talks about a wisdom from above versus a wisdom that is earthly and demonic.  "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere." (James 3:17).  Whew!  A whole sermon or book could be written about that verse!  Several of the characteristics of this wisdom relate specifically to a love-focused relationship to others (peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy, impartial).  This is in contrast to the "wisdom from below" which is jealous, has selfish ambition, is boastful (James 3:14).

The net of this is that for all the value that our current society places on knowledge, knowledge by itself often creates wrong attitudes in us if it is not balanced with an attitude where we are looking out for the best interests of others instead of focusing on ourselves.

Some Corinthians were so focused on what they thought they knew about idols not being real gods (which is true), they were causing other brothers in Christ who are newer believers to be led into sin or to violate their consciences because of the thoughtless examples of those who had "knowledge".

Father God, help me to see others through your eyes and to show love rather than be puffed up with prideful knowledge.  I thank you for your mercy to me and that you are changing me into your image!

There is much more to say about this chapter, but since there is so much, I'll break it into separate posts :)

1 Corinthians Chapter 7 - Surprising Marriage Equalities

Women and the Gospel
Jesus Christ and the good news that he and his followers proclaimed did many things to turn society on its head and proclaim that the "norms of society" were wrong.  One area of change that still echos today is that of the value and role of women in society.  The message of the gospel wasn't that there is no difference between the sexes in any area (as some today would try to put forward), but taught that before God women and men have equal value (Gal 3:28), that they are co-heirs in Christ (1 Peter 3:7).  Their role in the family (Eph 5:22) and the church (1 Timothy 2:12) was however different.

Your Spouse Has Authority Over Your Body
In this chapter, Paul presents some nitty-gritty details of the equality that women (and men) have in marriage.  On the one hand in Ephesians 5:22-23 Paul teaches that men are the head, or leader, of the wives and that wives should submit to their husbands, yet in 1 Corinthians 7:4 we see that the wife has authority over the husband's body (as husband's do over their wives body).  Men often mistakenly view that because they are the head of the wife, that they can simply do as they please.  But clearly if the wife has authority over the husband's body, that has implications.  The first implication that Paul points out is in the area of sexual relations between a husband and a wife.  The Corinthians had asked Paul if they should abstain from sexual relations altogether.  Paul clearly responds that the sexual aspect of marriage is critical and should not be withheld on either side.  Clearly this also means that as the spouse's body is not to be shared with someone outside of the marriage.  This authority would also apply to the coverings of the body - so a wife should dress to please her husband, and a husband should dress to please his wife.

Living to Please Your Spouse
The next part of the discussion is interesting and takes this mutual bodily authority to a new level.  At that time in Corinth and other places there was great persecution that was being faced by believers (as Paul himself was beaten and thrown in prison several times) so Paul says that because of the "present distress" (v 26) it is best to remain as you are (married or unmarried).  He goes on to describe that those who are married have their interests divided - a husband pleasing God and his wife and a wife pleasing God and husband.  The implications of this are critical to understand: if you are married, you must live to please your spouse.  Often when people get married they often live as though they are not.  Men tend to be the biggest violator by continuing to "go out with the boys" and do other activities as if they weren't married.  Once married, the primary human relationship should be to one's spouse - husband or wife.  A husband cannot simply please himself, and for that matter cannot live simply to "please God".  The distortion and error here can be both on the irreligious side (a husband spending all of his time "out with the boys") or on the religious side (a husband spending all of his time out "serving God"). Both of those are wrong.  That is not to say that a husband or wife cannot spend time with friends and cannot spend time serving God.  Clearly both of those are good and important.  The problem comes when the husband (or wife) doesn't give to their spouse the high priority of time and attention that they deserve.  It is all too common in history to see pastors or ministers of Christ who have forgotten this and have neglected their wives and children (their first disciples) and have gone out to "serve God".   Obviously the other side of this is a problem as well if the husband or wife is prevented from serving God because of demands of the spouse.  God is the primary relationship and first love of our lives, but if we are married, we must also live to please our husband or wife.

Father, I thank you for the gift of a wife that you have given me!  She is a blessing and a jewel and brings great joy and help to my life. Help me to love her and cherish her and live to please her as I please you.

1 Corinthians Chapter 6 - Sexual Sin Part Deux, Lawsuits and more

This letter to the Corinthians is loaded with practical advice and such that is very applicable today.  The Corinthian church is noted as one that has many problems and perhaps that is why it is quite helpful for today - because we have many problems. :)

Lawsuits Among Believers
The chapter begins on the topic of lawsuits among believers which is an important topic for today - especially in the US - because of the hugely litigious society we live in.  You can barely sneeze without someone threatening a lawsuit. Summarizing what Paul says regarding lawsuits among believers: 1) Don't sue - it is better to be wronged 2) Especially don't go to secular court against a brother or sister in Christ.  Use arbitration within the church and agree to have someone in the body of Christ arbitrate the difference.

God's Power To Change Us
A passing comment that Paul makes in verse 11 is of great importance, "And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."  In the sentence before, Paul makes clear that 1) sins such as sexual immorality, adultery, homosexuality, idolatry, thievery, greed, swindling, drunkenness and slander will keep us out of the kingdom of God 2) the Corinthians USED TO be these things and 3) God has the power and grace to change us and cleanse us from the past and make us righteous in Christ Jesus.

Wow!  Thank you Jesus for your forgiveness and power!

It should also be noted that those verses (v 9-11) have important things to say about the current homosexual debates: 1) homosexuality is a sin - as are other sexual sins 2) persons who were once caught in that sin can, by the power of Jesus Christ, come out of the sin to forgiveness, healing and righteousness in Jesus Christ.

Sexual Immorality - Part Deux - FLEE
Obviously this topic of sexual immorality is important because Paul is spending a lot of time on it.  Clearly it is important for us today as well because of the wide degree to which it has infected our culture and the church. Three important items from this passage are

1. Sexual sin is different and worse from other sins because of its more harmful affect to us and because it is a sin against our own bodies.  
2. When a person sins sexually with another, they become united in body and spirit.  This increases the negative consequence and increases the difficulty in being free. 
3. We should FLEE from sexual sin.

I heard an interesting and true commentary in a sermon relating to that last point.  Often we as humans - and especially men - treat our weakness toward sin as a weakness that must be strengthened against.  So we try to "become strong" like we would with our body in a gym - perhaps by studying and memorizing scripture and practicing self discipline such as fasting and saying no to temptations. While there is obviously great benefit to that, the error comes when we think that now we are strong so we can be near sexual sin and temptation and not fall.  Paul gives the command to FLEE from sexual immorality, not to strengthen ourselves and stand.  The latter is a trick of the devil.  We should always flee and stay far away from sexual immorality and temptation in that area.  As Proverbs says we cannot carry fire close to our chest or in our lap and not have our clothes burned (Proverbs 6:27).  We should stay away and flee from sexual immorality!  Get up and leave the movie theater!  Turn off the TV!  Turn off the computer!  Don't be deceived and think that "because I am an adult" or "because I am married" it is OK and I can handle this.  No, it is sin and it will burn us and we need to flee!!!  Don't watch it, don't entertain thoughts about it.  Cry out to Jesus for help and FLEE!

Lord Jesus, help us to be free and stay free from sexual immorality!

1 Corinthians Chapter 5 - Sexual Sin

This chapter is very important for us in several ways
1) It highlights the problem of sin - especially sexual sin in the church
2) It gives directions on how to handle it
3) It clarifies interactions within the church and outside of it in regard to sin

Sexual sin was a problem for the Corinthian church as it is a problem for most churches in America today.  Today pornography, adultery, lust are destroying individuals and families in the church.  There is also growing problems and pressure related to homosexuality.  We must be clear that sin in general and especially sexual sins are wrong, they hurt the lives of individuals directly and indirectly involved, they hurt the church and they need to be addressed.  Paul makes clear that those participating in such sins, those who are unrepentant, need to be removed from the church.  It is important to note that church discipline and removal from fellowship relate to those who are engaged in the sin and are unwilling to turn from it.  In 2 Corinthians, Paul instructs them to bring back the one who had sinned and is now repentant (2 Corinthians 2:5).  Jesus gives very similar instructions in Matthew 18 regarding an individual who sins against another individual. Again the disfellowshipping is done in the case of unrepentance.  When someone is wanting to turn from sin, they should not be cast out but brought near to be helped and delivered in the name of Jesus.

Some people think/claim that pornography is a "victimless" crime.  The fact is that it is a vicious evil and it harms 1) those who are in the pictures 2) those looking at the pictures 3) the families (present and future) of those looking.  Those who are in the pictures have been degraded and are being treated as objects, not individuals who deserve honor, respect and modesty.  Sometimes the individuals have chosen willingly to participate, but they have been deceived about the propriety and value.  That doesn't change the fact that it is a sin against their body that should not be participated in.  We wouldn't inject a drug addict with drugs just because they are addicted and want the drugs.  We would need to help them get free from what is destroying them or at least choose not to participate if the individual refuses help.

For those who are looking at the pictures, this is the sin of lust, that Jesus says is adultery in the heart (Matt 5:28).  Jesus also says that a person who sins is a slave to sin (John 8:34). It can be clearly seen that pornography is addictive with always an increasing desire for more.  This spiritual slavery begins to destroy the person involved and removes their self control - as Proverbs 25:28 says, they become like a city that has been broken into and left without walls.  This lack of self control increases the appetite for other sins and decreases the ability to stop, so that the persons life becomes more and more sinful and less and less holy.  The Scripture is clear that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of heaven (1 Cor 6:9, Gal 5:21, Eph 5:5).  1 John says that those who continue in sin truly do not belong to God (1 John 3:6) and Jesus will say "I never knew you, depart from me, you workers of lawlessness" (Matt 7:23).

Finally pornography destroys marriages and families and children's lives. (Most of my comments will be from the perspective of a man who is viewing the pornography because men have more of a temptation and problem due to the visual nature of sexual attraction.  However, some women are caught in the sin as well and the comments would apply to them as well from the female perspective.) If a person is currently married it will destroy their marriage because now instead of there being two people united in Christ and becoming one flesh, there are now multiple people invading the sacred intimacy of the marriage bed.  It is adultery in the heart and it will create jealousy, mistrust and division in the marriage.  The images seen will not easily be removed so that now instead of making love to your wife, the pictures of others will fill your mind and heart and the adultery deepens, continues and divides.  Then you will not be satisfied and intoxified with your wife as you should (Proverbs 5:19) but rather you will be destroyed, hate yourself and hate life (Proverbs 5:3-14).  It also destroys children, because the children are receive a spiritual inheritance (Exodus 20:5) from their parents for good or bad and the children usually repeat the sins of the parents even when they don't know about the sin.  For those who are not yet married, pornography destroys their lives and ensures that they will not have a satisfying, successful marriage unless they turn from the sin and are set free in Jesus.

Pornography, like some other sins, can be addictive and very difficult to stop.  First one must recognize that it is sin and choose to turn away from it, which is repentance. Because the walls of self control have been damaged or destroyed, an individual usually needs help in getting free from this sin and that is where the support of the church comes in. James 5:15-16 says that one who has sinned should go to the elders can confess their sins so that they can be forgiven and healed.  Often people are afraid to confess to an elder because they are ashamed, but this shame and fear is a trick of the devil who wants to keep them in the chains of sin.  As a pastor and an elder I know that I have sinned myself and I have counselled many others who have sinned and have helped people to be free from pornography and lust. As a point of clarification, by God's mercy, I'm not caught in pornography, but the sin effects even pastors. I don't look down on those confessing, but recognize that it takes courage and a determination to change in order to confess, so I actually consider the person who does confess to be commendable and on the right path to life and freedom.  The mere act of confessing to another removes some of the power of the sin and brings freedom. It is like you were being blackmailed by the devil over the sin but now you have brought out the issue to the light, so now the devil cannot hold the matter over your head anymore because the once hidden matter is now exposed so there is no longer any power over you.  To overcome such addictive sins there is also a need to continue in accountability, cry out to God in prayer for help and change whenever the temptation comes, memorize scripture related to the topic and thus have your mind renewed (Romans 12:2).  I have seen God set people free and there is hope for freedom and new life in Christ.

I have focused more on pornography in this post, but really the principles and concepts are the same for other sexual sins as well and in general for any sin.

Thank you Lord Jesus that you died for us to overcome the power of sin and death!  I thank you that you have set me free from a life of sin and I thank you that you are in the business of releasing the captives and bringing new life to people!  Thank you for your love and mercy!  Thank you for your power and forgiveness.

1 Corinthians Chapter 4 - True life is found in humility and service to others

Pride is a deadly sin. As are jealousy, comparison, slander and gossip.  The church in Corinth is wrestling with these problems and they are problems that we regularly wrestle with today.

In today's world where self-esteem is emphasized, where any wrong behavior is justified to get ahead - cheating, stealing and lying are acceptable if you don't get caught, and where fame, material possessions and financial prosperity are the ultimate goal, the example of the cross - humility, self-sacrifice, servanthood - doesn't go over very well.

Why would Paul, a successful, up-and-coming scholar leave his high position and become an itinerant preacher who is ridiculed, beaten, imprisoned, poorly dressed and homeless?  Why would Jesus, who was God, King of the universe, and had all power, authority, lacked nothing, why would Jesus leave all of that and empty himself of his power and become a servant, born in an animal stable, an itinerant preacher who was a social outcast, rejected by the wealthy and powerful and finally be mocked, falsely accused, beaten and crucified?  And he knew at the beginning that this would happen.  Why?  Because of love. Because of a greater, higher cause than physical comfort, popularity, fame and wealth.

Jesus gave himself up for you and me and suffered all that he did because he loves us.  That may seem impossible to believe, but think about the person(s) in your life who you love the most.  What would you do to protect them if you knew they were in danger?  What would you do to get them back if they were kidnapped?  How hard would you work to make sure they were taken care of, had food to eat if they had none?  Movies and stories like "Taken", "Not Without My Daughter" and many others play off of these emotions.

All of these powerful emotions that we can feel are there because of the remaining image of God that is within us.  When God made us, he made us in his image, in his likeness.  That image has been marred and covered by our sin and the sins of others so that sometimes it is unrecognizable but underneath it still is there, awaiting redemption, resurrection and life.

God sees us in our fallen state and loves us.  He wants better for us.  He wants to pick us up and bring us to new places, places of life, fulfillment, joy, belonging, hope and love.  He wants us to be with him, to know him, to establish a new,deep, fulfilling relationship with us in love.  That is why he left everything for us and why Paul left everything.

So God is calling us.  Calling us out of our comfort, out of our pride, out of our own way of doing things to follow him.  And Paul echos Jesus' call and asks us to imitate him.  To leave our pride and self righteousness and follow the way of Christ, the greater and higher calling of the cross of Christ.  Because he loved us, we love him.  Because he served us, we serve others.

Father, let me know your heart.  To feel what you feel, to love how you love.  I need more of you and more of your goodness in my life.  Call us and draw us ever closer to you.  Let my life be lived to your glory and in your name.

1 Corinthians Chapter 3 - How are you building?

As Paul is bringing correction to the Corinthians about their divisions over people (Paul vs Apollos vs Peter), he makes some important statements about living and working in Christ.  He says that when Christ returns, each of us who have given our lives to Christ will have his/her work in Christ judged by God and we'll be given our wages/rewards.  He compares our work in Christ to building a house with different materials and if our work in Christ is good, like gold, we will receive a reward.  If not, we will still be saved, but only "as through fire." All of our effort and work will be burned up.

In the context, Paul has described several things that constitute "bad" work: First off jealousy, strife (v 3) selfishness, pride (v 18) and building our own "kingdom" versus God's produce divisions and detract from the solid foundation of Christ.  He is contrasting spiritual versus fleshly/sinful works which in Gal 5:16-25 he provides a list of behaviors and characteristics that are examples of both fleshly/sinful versus spiritual.  In his second letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor 13:5) Paul says that we should examine and test ourselves to ensure that we are in Christ, and in this context, to ensure we are building our lives and working in the Kingdom of God according to his righteous, excellent standard.

Lord Jesus, help me to work unto you in such a way as to bring honor to you, not me.  Purify me, mold me, use me.  Shape us so that our lives will be a humble offering to you as we serve one another in your love.

Spiritual Immaturity
Paul's states that the Corinthians are infants in Christ, not spiritual, still taking milk and not solid food.  This reminds me of Hebrews 5:12.  This problem of spiritual immaturity cropped up in both these places and I think that it is a problem that still is common in the church today.  Unfortunately many know many things about God, but maturity comes from righteous living, choosing holiness - with doing, not just knowing.  Heb 5 describes maturity resulting from the constant use of discerning good from evil.

Father God, I pray that you will work in us so that your words go beyond our head and into our hearts so that they change the way that we live.  Let our actions and our lives reflect your goodness, holiness and love.

1 Corinthians 2 - God's Power in Our Weakness and Fear

When I've read Paul saying he came "in weakness and in fear and much trembling" (v 3), I always thought he was exaggerating.  But now as I've just read the context in Acts before reading this letter, I see that he had just been imprisoned and beaten and chased out of the two prior cities. When God spoke to him in a vision and told him not to be afraid that he wouldn't be attacked nor harmed (Acts 18:9-10) it was because Paul actually was afraid of this happening because it had happened to him in each city before this.

Sometimes we think of Paul and other heroes of the Bible as superhuman.  But the fact is that they were people just like you and I.  They had fears and failings just like us.  I haven't been imprisoned or beaten for preaching the gospel, but I have been in foreign countries preaching about Jesus and had my passport taken away at gunpoint and have had money taken and have been chased by authorities.  In most of the situations of danger God has given me supernatural boldness, but once when we were fleeing the airport to leave the country, I felt a definite sigh of relief when the wheels left the ground, so I can understand some of what Paul describes in his fear and trembling.

Paul also makes some interesting points in this chapter about his preaching about Jesus not being with "plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (v 4).  He wasn't just another voice in the marketplace of words, but God was speaking and acting so that the faith of the Corinthians can be built on the power of God.  When speaking to others about Jesus, especially to those who are Hindu or others open to religion, I have seen that they accept Jesus as just another god to add to their pantheon.  But Jesus isn't just another god.  He is the true and ONLY God! Here is where I really need more of God's power to be speaking and not mere wisdom of man.  What is interesting is that often God's power doesn't shine through until we come to recognize our weakness and inadequacy and we cry out to God for help.  As God spoke to Paul in 2 Cor 12:9, God's power is made perfect in our weakness.

Lord Jesus, I pray for more of your Spirit and power!  I pray that you would work in supernatural ways to speak and act and change hearts, so that others can find you and be rescued from a life of sin and death and separation from you!  Let me fully see my weakness, so that your strength and wisdom can be displayed!

Wisdom from God
On the one hand, Paul says that he didn't speak with "plausible words of wisdom", but he did speak with the wisdom of God.  But he clarifies that he does speak words of wisdom from God to those who are spiritual and mature who can accept the words of God.  To a person without the Spirit of God, they are foolishness.

What is incredible is that we can have the Spirit of God living in us, who knows the mind and thoughts of God, and who speaks to us the mind and thoughts of Christ!

Lord Jesus, attune my heart to be able to hear your Spirit better!  I want to know your mind and thoughts and I want to follow in the steps that you have for me!

1 Corinthians Chapter 1 - God's Power and Wisdom vs Our Weakness and Foolishness

As Paul opens his letter he says that he is writing along with Sosthenes, who appears to be the synagogue ruler originally from Corinth who was beaten in front of the tribunal in Acts 18:17 after the Jewish leaders unsuccessfully tried to stir up problems for Paul on his first visit to Corinth.

Also in his introduction, Paul gives a definition of a "saint" as those in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  This is in contrast to a common misconception that people have today that "saints" are some special class of believers.  The fact is that everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ is called to be a saint - someone who has been set apart from the world to belong to Jesus.  This echos the word for "church" which has a literal meaning of "those persons who have been called out" and in context, have been called out of the world to belong to Jesus.  Let us live up to that calling!

God's Power and Wisdom
The first aspect of God's power mentioned is his work in the lives of the Corinthians that enriched their speech and knowledge, gave them spiritual gifts and will sustain them guiltless until Christ's return (v 4-8). Then God's power is also demonstrated in rescuing us from sin and death through the cross of Christ and through Christ himself. This power is described as foolishness, folly and a stumbling block to those who haven't (yet, in some cases) trusted in Christ and are thus perishing.

Have you ever known someone who thought that they were very wise or smart but clearly they weren't?  It is like the word "sophomore" which literally means "wise fool".  A foolish person who thinks themselves wise often knows some things but not enough to recognize the limit to their knowledge and to know humility. There are many who think themselves wise in respect to the nature of life through science but as Romans 1:21-22 describes, "their foolish hearts were darkened" because they suppress the truth about God and don't honor or thank him. I love Paul's comparison of God to us: The foolishness of God is wiser than man's greatest wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger that men's strength.  

Thank you Lord God for your wisdom and power and your mercy!  Thank you for having mercy on me, a sinner who is foolish and was separated from you.  Thank you for displaying your power and your wisdom in and through me and all those who have fully put their trust in you!

1 Corinthians - Brief Intro

Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians around AD 57 while on his third missionary trip, probably when he was in Ephesus where he spent two years (see this prior post for timelines and maps).  He had originally visited Corinth, a major city in Greece, on his second missionary journey and had spent over 18 months there which was his first long stay in a city on one of his trips.

Prior to his first time in Corinth, he had been put in prison in Philippi and chased out of Thessalonica and Berea.  While in Corinth, he met Aquila and Priscilla who he worked with both in secular tentmaking and in the Kingdom of God. God told Paul not to be afraid, that no one would harm him in Philippi and that God had many people in that city (Acts 18:9-10).

Corinth is just across the Aegean Sea from Ephesus where Paul was at the time and word of how the believers in Corinth were doing was coming across to Paul thus prompting the series of letters that he writes to them.  In 1 Corinthians 5:9 he references a previous letter to the Corinthians that we no longer have, so this is now his second letter (though it is called 1 Corinthians) and after this letter the Corinthians write back to Paul and he then responds in a third letter (called 2 Corinthians).

So let's now jump in and begin to read!

Galatians Chapter 6 - Three P's: Practical, Principle and Priority

This chapter is jam-packed with nuggets of wisdom and practical instruction.

Practical ways to show love to one another - restore those who've sinned, bear one another's burdens.
In the restoration process, Paul says that this is the task of spiritual (Spirit filled, mature) persons and gives additional caution about being tempted.  For someone who is younger in Christ, danger lies in helping others in restoring from sin because the discussions about the temptation faced by the other person brings temptation for the person helping.  Satan hates sin being exposed and people coming away from sin, so those who are helping will come under attack.
In bearing burdens, this would apply both to spiritual burdens that are carried in prayer and spiritual warfare and physical burdens that require physical help, time or finances etc.  These are practical examples of how we can love our neighbor as ourselves.

Principle of sowing and reaping - actions now for good or bad produce life or death in future.  Paul describes sowing to the flesh will produce corruption.  He had just given (in Chapter 5) a list of some of the obvious works of the flesh (including sexual sins, magic, drunkenness, anger, jealousy etc).  If we live in that way, we should not be deceived and think that we will end up with eternal life.  Many people are deceived in this way and think that just because they "prayed the prayer" or go to church regularly that they are now saved and going to heaven no matter what their life is like.  Jesus clearly said that people who live a sinful life will not enter the kingdom of heaven even if they claim to follow Jesus and do miracles in his name (Matt 7:21-23).  Paul wants the Galatians to know that their actions matter and they should continue in doing good.  Their "doing good" doesn't save them, but if they are not following the Spirit and turning from sin, then it is really evidence that they weren't saved.

Priority of believers - do good to all, especially those who are believers.  Loving our neighbor as ourselves means we will be doing good to others.  Paul says that our first priority in doing good should be toward those who are believers.  Part of the reason could be that at times it is easier to do good to those who don't belong to God.  This gives us then a priority of 1) God first 2) believers next 3) non-believers 4) ourselves.  Other passages will add immediate family as well.

Large letters note of interest
Paul comments in verse 11 about the large letters that he is writing with his own hand.  Some have guessed that this may be due to some eye problems that Paul seems to have experienced.  In Chapter 4 verse 13 Paul says that he first preached to the Galatians because of a sickness in his body.  He then says in verse 15 that in their love for him the Galatians would have gladly gouged out their eyes and given them to Paul - indicating that his ailment was with with his eyes and how much the Galatians wanted to help.  If indeed Paul did have some eye problems, it would make sense that his writing would be large to enable him to read it easier.

Galatians Chapter 5 - True Freedom to Love

Have you ever witnessed a public argument or debate where one person gives an insult to the other side and those listening react loudly with things like "Whoa!" or "Oh man!".  This is what happens in this chapter.

Paul has been arguing vigorously against persons who are coming in and deceiving the Galatian believers.  He is not arguing just to argue, but he is defending and arguing for the very lives of his children in Christ, the Galatian believers.  He shows that those deceiving them are telling lies, that the lies are not from God, and rather than giving help as they claim, they are creating bondage and robbing them of their benefit in Christ.  He then seals off the argument with a rather shocking statement that he wishes that those who were forcing circumcision on the Galatians would go the whole way and emasculate themselves (v 12).  That comment makes me wince a bit and it is like the final nail on the coffin lid, burying the argument.

Paul then shifts away from the argument and tells the Galatians what the purpose of their freedom in Christ is: to serve one another in love (v 13). Often when people first gain new found freedom, the urge is to indulge their own desires - the desires of the sinful nature (or "flesh" - the term Paul often uses).  We often see this happening as young people go off to college and are on their own for the first time.  We also see this in adults when they go on vacation etc.  So Paul warns them and says that this new freedom in Christ is not to gratify the cravings of the sinful nature (v 13,16), but rather to grow in love being led by the Spirit.

Paul then gives a great list of some of the actions and desires of the sinful nature: "sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these."  When we look at our world today, we see that these items are generally gaining in frequency and often declared to be "ok" or "good".  Paul gives a clear warning that "that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (v 21).  Then Paul gives the list of the actions and attitudes that should be present in our lives in place of the evil: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control".

In the first group of bad things, there is generally a selfish inward focus that causes or is at the root of the sins.  In the second group of the good things, the focus is outward - giving and serving others.  As Paul said, "love your neighbor as your self" sums up these things.  Love is putting the needs of others above your own, seeking their own best interest ahead of your own.

Lord, help us to love you with all of our hearts and help us to love those around us.  You showed us how to love when you gave your life up for us.  Help me to love and serve others and not become weary or be discouraged, but to press on in your life and love!  Lead us by your Spirit and empower us anew with your Spirit that we may love, not in our strength, but with yours!

Galatians Chapter 4 - True Freedom

Several things of interest in this chapter
1) Elementary principles (v 3,9)
2) crying "Abba! Father!"

Paul wants the Galatian believers to be free in Christ Jesus:  free to live a new life, free from old bondages, free to know and belong to Jesus Christ.  In that light, he makes some important comments for us about the original situation of all persons when they are born and before they find freedom in Christ Jesus.  He says that they/we were enslaved by the elementary principles of the world (v 3).  The Greek behind this term is "stoicheia tou kosmou" which most scholars (including FF Bruce, DA Carson, others - see http://www.xenos.org/essays/stoich.htm - footnote 10) argue refers to satanic demons - similar to what Paul references in Ephesians 6:12 (spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places).

Three things are interesting to me about this: 1) slavery to these satanic forces is the default condition of all persons until they are set free in Jesus Christ 2) we can and should be set free from them 3) after being set free it is possible, though not desirable, to go back into slavery under these beings.

Having been taught by Pastor Gordon Powlison on how to pray against Principalities and Powers and how to find freedom for myself and others, this scripture is a reminder of the pervasive condition that most people are unaware of and are themselves enslaved by.

Lord Jesus, help us to find freedom in you and be free from these demonic spirits so that we can life in freedom, righteousness and holiness.

The second point of interest is Paul's description of the "Spirit of the Son" whom God has sent into our hearts who cries "Abba! Father!".  We see Jesus talking to the Father this way in the garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:36) when he is crying out to the Father to release him from the suffering to come if possible.  Paul also describes the spirit of adoption as sons that causes us to cry "Abba! Father!" (Rom 8:15).  This term Abba is a very child-like term, such as a very young child would call their father "daddy" in English.  So we see that we can/should have a relationship with our Father that we view him as our "Daddy God", who is very close to us and personal.  In each of these scriptures, there is a crying out on the part of the person saying "Abba!"  It is a point of desperation, a point of forgetting about the "adult" formalities and getting real at the bottom part of us.  At this point we can call on our Father as a little child and call him "Abba!"  I think that we would do well to not just have this realization at the times of desperation, but in our daily lives as we strip down the mask of "adult propriety" and become real before our Daddy God who loves us.

Daddy God, I thank you for your overwhelming love.  I pray for a deep and fresh revelation of your fatherhood to us.  Let us know you in the depth of our heart and soul and let us love you and receive your love!  Let us be free of our fears and masks and let us know you and love you with all of us.

Galatians Chapter 3 - Wake-Up Call

Wow!  Paul is certainly not pulling any punches here!  He is very passionate!

In previous chapters his passion was more focused at those who were leading the Galatians astray but now he is directing his passion in their direction: "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?"  I don't know about you, but being called "foolish" and "bewitched" would be very startling, shocking and scary!  This is a wake-up call to the Galatians.

Clearly Paul is very upset because this is their very lives that are at stake, their eternal destination.  As a parent, he loves his children and doesn't want to see them die, be harmed or be eternally separated from them.

Sometimes people think that pastors, parents and certainly God should not ever get angry.  This is simply not true!  Jesus, who is God, at times clearly got angry at both the religious leaders who opposed him (Pharasees - Mark 3:5) and even his disciples to a lesser degree (Mark 16:14).  Clearly our human anger is of no value in producing righteousness (James 1:20) but we are in that same context told to be slow to anger, not never angry (v. 19).  Clearly as people we tend to have a bigger problem with wrong anger - anger born out of our embarrassment, pride, frustrations or tiredness.  But there is in fact a time when righteous anger does exist and needs to be expressed as we see here in the letter to the Galatians.  Sometimes we need a wake up call!

Another thing that strikes me in this chapter is Paul's description of the relationship between the law and faith in Jesus Christ.  He describes the law as a necessary pre-cursor or guardian put in place before we come to faith in Jesus.  In Romans, Paul says similarly that the law is important in that it 1) makes us aware of what sin is (Rom 3:20) 2) makes us aware of our absolute need of God's gift of forgiveness (Rom 5:20).  Many times we think that we are OK.  It is like the story of the emperor's new clothes which are actually no clothes at all.  The emperor is deceived.  The child who says that the king is naked is like the law - making us aware of our true condition.  So the law is important, but it isn't the end goal.  The end goal is faith in Christ Jesus which provides us a new life, freedom, forgiveness and a relationship with God that will last forever.

Thank you Father for in your wisdom giving us the law to make us aware of our desperate situation!  And thank you Father even more that you provide a way for us in Christ Jesus to be saved from our sin, death and separation from you!

Finally, one of the radically equalizing statements of Scripture: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (v 28) which reveals God's view and his heart toward us as his children.  There is not one who is better than another, there are no favorites, there are none who are the "lesser" or "unloved" or "not pretty"; none who are the greater or lesser, none who are more or less valuable - but all are one in Christ.  That is clearly an ideal that many strive toward but clearly outside of Jesus, attaining the truth of God's view is almost impossible.  God views us this way and we should have that view toward others.  Unfortunately in our sinful, fallen world, people tend to focus on and fear the differences (race, power/money, gender).  The great news is that in Jesus Christ, we are all one and all equal heirs with equal value and importance in God's sight.  May we view one another and treat one another this way always!

Lord Jesus, help us to first see how much you love us!  And then help us to show your love to all those around us, without regard to race, wealth, gender or other things that separate us from one another.

Galatians Chapter 2

You can almost feel Paul's anguish and passion while reading this chapter.

Three things stand out to me:
1) Which trip to Jerusalem?  (v.1)
2) Peter vs Paul - temporary conflict (v11)
3) "If righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose." (v21)

On the first item, when reading this portion it seems that Paul is describing his trip to Jerusalem that is recorded in Acts 15 - council in Jerusalem on the topic of circumcision.  That seems to fit best with the "after 14 years" and the circumcision topic.  There is another visit that Paul made in Acts 11:30 that we don't have any details on except for the fact that Paul and Barnabas were bringing financial help for the believers in Judea who are undergoing difficulty due to famine.  It could very well be the Acts 11 visit that is being referenced but he says in Gal 2:2 that the purpose of the trip was to make sure that he was not running in vain which matches the Acts 15 trip and not the Acts 11 trip.

On the one hand it doesn't really matter which trip it was.  The only reason that it is interesting is trying to put together a timeline of events to see when the letter to the Galatians was written and how other events fit in.  It seems to me that the Acts 15 visit fits best, which then would mean that the letter to the Galatians was written after the letter to the Thessalonians.  Obviously, either way it doesn't change the message or meaning.

When we read about the conflict between Peter (Cephas) and Paul in verses 11-14 it is rather shocking at first.  Often we have this false notion that the "hero's" of the Bible are perfect.  We think, "If Peter and Paul are both following Jesus and are leaders in the church, how is it possible that they could have a conflict?"  The clear answer is that just like you and I, Peter and Paul are both still humans with a sinful nature.  While they/we have been made new in Christ and have put away the sins of the flesh, at times the sinful nature still raises its head on occasion.  In this instance Peter was led astray temporarily due to peer pressure of the religious crowd.  Group pressure is something we all need to be careful of.  The "group" can be family, friends, church brothers and sisters or coworkers and can be one person or many.  In this situation, we don't directly see Peter's response, but it is implied that he then came around and agreed with Paul's position.

At the end of the chapter Paul in his building argument is saying that we cannot be saved by obeying the law.  In this situation, people had gone to the Galatian believers and had told them that they cannot be true believers and cannot be saved unless they are circumcised and obey the law.  Paul is refuting that lie by clearly stating that they came to Christ Jesus by faith in him, not by obeying the law.  He ends with the powerful statement, "If righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose." (v21).  In other words, he proves that the law is not the source of righteousness or salvation as some are claiming.  If that were so, then Jesus didn't have to die, but that is ridiculous because God would not have gone through such difficulty if it weren't necessary.  Jesus said that his blood purchased our salvation.  If we claim otherwise, we are calling God a liar.

For us today, we don't usually wrestle with being circumcised to be saved, but we often have false ideas about our standing with God and our salvation being dependent on our exact obedience to things like reading our Bible every day or always having a right attitude.  The truth of the Scripture and the great news of the gospel is that our salvation was purchased by Jesus Christ apart from our works and it is a gift from God!  We are saved and forgiven by trusting in Jesus Christ and turning from our sin (repenting).  Jesus does want us to obey him and he says that if we love him we will keep his commandments (John 14:15).  But our salvation is based on a covenant relationship that we enter into when we trust in Jesus.  It is based on his love for us and his faithfulness and not our own.  After we trust in Jesus, we are to turn from sin - especially repeated sins (1 John 3:6-10) but when we sin, and we will (just as we read about Peter doing wrong in this chapter) our salvation is not immediately lost.  We are told in 1 John 1:9 to confess our sins and he will forgive us an purify us from all unrighteousness.  When we do not read our Bible on a given day, God doesn't stop loving us or think that we are bad.  He wants us to spend time with him reading and praying because he loves us and wants to spend time with us and wants us to know him and love him more.  There are some days when things are just crazy busy or we are sick or things happen that prevent us from spending time with God.  But just as a parent wouldn't be upset at his/her children for not spending time with them on a given day of sickness, stress or difficulty, neither does God get upset with us.  On the other hand if not spending time with God is a regular situation, if we truly love God, we would want to change that because we are missing him.  Our relationship with God is/should be based on love, not based on performance or fear.

Father God, I thank you for your love!  I thank you that you take imperfect, sinful and rebellious people like me and you love us and save us and change us.  I thank you that you keep working with me and changing me even when I sin.  You forgive me and cleanse me when I turn to you and you are good and you are faithful and you are loving!  I love you and I thank you, Lord Jesus!

Galatians Chapter 1 - Godly Jealousy

Early on as we read this letter of Paul to those who believe in Jesus Christ and who live in Galatia, we see that Paul is upset, even a bit angry.  It seems that someone came to Galatia after Paul was there and is distorting the good news (gospel) of Jesus Christ and is leading the Galatians astray.

We don't yet see in this chapter what the specifics of the distortions are, but we do see that Paul is saying that these who are leading the Galatians astray should be accursed.  So why is Paul reacting so strongly? I believe it is because Paul is jealous for those who God has given to him.  He sees the Galatians as his spiritual children (4:19) and is concerned for their very life.

Some have asked, "Isn't jealousy wrong?"  It is wrong when we are jealous for something that isn't ours such as a neighbor's belongings and we are wanting them.  But there is a proper and Godly jealousy that is being very dedicated to, protective of and unwilling for harm to come to those persons whom have been entrusted to us.  This is like a parent who sees harm coming to a child, and who loves the child so much, that he/she will protect and defend that child from all evil or harm. In fact God is described as a jealous God (Ex 34:14) and he doesn't want his people to follow other false gods.  That is because he knows that they are false and wanting really to destroy his people.  It would be like a parent who sees their children being "befriended" by a drug dealer who is offering them candy and money.  The parent knows that the drug dealer doesn't love them or care about them but wants to use them and will ultimately destroy them.  So a parent very rightly is jealous of his/her children and will work very hard to keep them from being taken away and deceived.  In fact it would be unloving and wrong for a parent not to do everything that they can and have such a righteous jealousy.

So Paul is very jealous for the Galatians - he loves them deeply and doesn't want them to be deceived and destroyed.  He is angry at those who are leading them astray.

Paul, as he is communicating to the Galatians about the gospel, is wanting to make sure that they don't think that the gospel that he told them was merely his opinion or the opinions of man but it is in fact a message directly from God.

I think that this is an important principle in child raising as well.  When we are giving instruction to our children, we need to be giving instructions and principles that are based on God's word and his ways and not just our traditions and not just our ideas or not just the latest psychological study.   And it is important to communicate to our children the fact that these things are God's commands and not just our own.  Human traditions are empty without God, our ideas are empty without God and the latest studies will keep on changing and if they don't agree with God's ways they won't lead to life and freedom.  As parents, we need to test those things that we are teaching our children against God's word and not just do them because that is what our parents did or because we read it on the internet or in some child raising book.  I'm not opposed to family traditions and not opposed to child psychology, but they need to be tested against God's word and his ways.  The good ones will stand the test and will bring life to our children and family instead of dead tradition and false teachings.  So we teach our children not to lie, because God says not to lie (Col 3:9) and lying is wrong and liars will not inherit the kingdom of God (Rev 12:8).  We teach our children not to use unclean language, not because it isn't polite, but because God teaches us in the Bible not to let any unclean or unwholesome words come out of our mouths, but only what is useful for building others up (Eph 4:29) (and we must lead and teach by example by doing the same in our speech).

Lord Jesus, help us to be holy as you are holy so we can be a righteous example to our children and to those who you bring to us.  I thank you that you love us with a jealous love and that you want what is best for us.  I pray that you will work in me your ways completely!