Nothing but the truth Devotion In Motion Monday Encouragement 04/26/2021
Galatians 1:6-8 If you are to Read Psalm 23, you find out right away that there are 3 things that a true Shepherd does. He has a staff that leads the way to go, once there he feeds you with green pastures, and he carries a club to protect and comfort you. This is what the Lord Jesus (The true Shepherd) does for us. And like the true Shepherd, undershepherds or Pastors as I like to call them. Those that have been called on to lead are to do the same thing as their Shepherd. They are called to lead, to feed and to protect. And that is what the book of Galatians is all about, it’s about a loving Shepherd Paul the apostle who writes to a fickle group of Christians who were being tossed by the wind with every form of doctrine by those who didn’t like Paul and sought to hurt him. And how do you hurt a shepherd by going after the sheep that he loves. So Paul is writing to warn them, by leading them back on the right road, by feeding them with the truth of gospel message, and by calling out the false teachers and false prophets that they can recognize them when they hear or see them. He says in vs 6. “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel…” As I mentioned, the Galatians were gullible and fickle. So, they were prone to false doctrine. Paul says they were “turning away” from the Gospel of grace. The phrase in the greek means “to defect to the other side.” The tense implies they were not there yet, but were getting close. Their faith was wavering. They were losing their grip on God’s grace. They were being lured away by a “different gospel.” If you’ve studied world religions you can identify hundreds, if not thousands, of false gospels. But I suggest there’s really only two types of religion. There’s the hand of man reaching upwards, and the hand of God reaching downwards. All religions except one (Christianity), can be summarized as man’s attempts to please God. They emphasize keeping rules, or performing rituals – a self-reliance. But Christianity is God’s hand to man! God is reaching down through Christ – doing for us, what we could never do for ourselves. This is the true Gospel! In fact, Paul says this “different gospel” is really not good news at all… verse 7, “which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert (or literally, “distort”) the gospel of Christ.” The Galatians were buying into a distorted version of truth. I believe Satan distorts God’s truth in one of three ways: he either twists it, 4 subtracts from it, or adds to it. And sometimes he does all three… 1:Satan can twist the interpretation of a verse. He makes it say what it was never intended to say. So, the old adage, “A text out of context becomes a pretext.” Satan loves to take the Bible out of context. 2:Satan also subtracts from the truth. He dilutes its meaning. AW Tozer once said, “Some have so watered down the Gospel that if it were a medicine it could not cure us, and if it were a poison it would not harm us.” A Gospel without repentance of sin is no Gospel at all! And 3rd: at times Satan adds to the truth. This was the strategy that infiltrated the Galatian church. False teachers, called “Judaizers,” agreed that salvation was by grace through faith, but… (and be careful of the buts… Read the fine print!) They added to the cross. Here was their rap… Yes, Jesus died to forgive us, but if you really want to please God you have to add to His work. And like every deceiver they had a long list of mandatory dos and don’ts that needed to be added. The bottom line of their message was that faith is not really enough – its up to us to finish or to add to Christ’s work. This is what Paul calls a “different gospel” – it was not a Gospel at all. A wise, old pastor once advised a young apprentice, “Preach a full Gospel – Christ and nothing less. A plain Gospel – Christ and nothing more. And a pure Gospel – Christ and nothing else.” Paul continues in verse 8, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.” This is strong language, The Greek word translated “accursed” is “anathema,” or “damned to hell.” Paul couldn’t have refuted this with more force! And he repeats his words to make the message stronger… “As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” Even if an angel dressed in white robes and with shining lights, comes and sits on the foot of your bed, and preaches to you a Gospel different from the grace Paul had delivered to them – “let the angel be damned!” If Joseph Smith had listened to Paul, when he heard the baloney from Maroni, millions of people wouldn’t be headed to hell under the sway of Mormonism. If Muhammed hadn’t listened to a supposed angel there’d be no Islam… Paul knew “angels” come in two varieties – faithful and fallen. And “fallen angels” or “demons” specialize in inspiring different gospels. This is why we need to be firmly grounded in the truth of God’s grace. To recognize another Gospel you have to know the true Gospel. So, a pastor’s most vital task is to lead, feed and protect God’s people with God’s Word. Did you hear about the woman who bought a parrot to keep her company, but she couldn’t get it to talk. She went back to the pet store, and complained to the owner. He said, “Does he have a mirror in his cage? Parrots love mirrors.” So she bought a mirror, took it home, put it in his cage, but he still wouldn’t talk. She returned to the pet store, and complained again. This time the owner said, “Does your parrot have a ladder. Parrots love ladders. And a happy parrot is a talkative parrot.” So she purchased a ladder, took it home, put it in the cage, but not a peep from the parrot. She went back a third time. This time the owner told her, “Try a swing. Parrots love swings. Get’m swinging, and he’ll talk up a storm.” So she bought a swing… Two days later she returned to the pet store. When the owner inquired about the parrot the woman announced he was dead. The man was shocked! He asked the woman, “Did your parrot ever say anything?” The woman replied, “Yes, just before he died, in a very soft, faint, weak whisper, he asked me, ‘Don’t they sell any food at that pet store?” So often churches think they need mirrors – pop psychology and introspection (looking inward at self)… Or ladders – step by step rules and self-help, (12 step programs)… Or swings – experiential, feelings-based religion… They try to entertain God’s people with mirrors, ladders, and swings – but what God’s people really can’t live without is God’s Word! Someone once said what we need “We need the truth to flow in us, through us and upon us! “Remember a half truth is still a lie” Amen The Lord Bless You
Victor Tafoya Please Share if you were encouraged
