Monday, June 20, 2011

freedom

Galatians 1:6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News 7 but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.

I'm going to spend some time in the epistle of Paul to the Galatians.  Apparently, while Paul has been away on his first missionary journey, some people have been spreading a different message than the Gospel.  They are Jews who have come into faith in Christ but now have developed their own "mutant" gospel.  These folks couldn't let go of their ties to the law and tradition that had been passed down to them.  They were teaching that Christians had to also keep circumcision and adhere to the law of Moses.  In other words, faith had to be combined with certain works.  People were vulnerable here because they had been used to many requirements that their religion imposed and they were drawn away from their experience of a new relationship with God.  We have to be careful to consider what we listen to and what we follow.  The Good News of freedom from sin found by faith in Christ can become tarnished easily when men try to add to it.  Perhaps it is good to remember that the Gospel is God's plan and man's only role is to deliver the message...not to deviate from it.  Once the prison door has been opened, why leave the prison only to return voluntarily?  I think we will learn something about true freedom in this letter.

blessings,
Rob Smith

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